Health Wrap Episode 53 discusses cancer drug pricing, medicine misuse and dengue

In the 53rd episode of The Health Wrap by The Hindu, Zubeda Hamid, Senior Assistant Editor, and Athira Elssa Johnson, Senior Reporter, discuss medicine pricing, drug safety and dengue surveillance.

The episode examines the Supreme Court’s concerns over the difference between the supply price and maximum retail price of essential cancer medicines. In one instance, the court was told that a cancer drug with a price to retailer of about ₹2,700 carried a maximum retail price of ₹27,000. The Bench described the difference as “broad daylight dacoity”.

The discussion also covers the court’s concerns about hospitals requiring patients to buy medicines from their own pharmacies, its suggestion of a uniform 16% margin and questions around generic prescriptions and the implementation of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order.

The episode also covers the risks of indiscriminate painkiller and antibiotic use, including kidney disease and antimicrobial resistance. While prolonged or inappropriate use of painkillers can cause kidney-related complications, unnecessary or incorrect antibiotic use can make infections harder to treat. The discussion highlights the importance of appropriate prescribing and responsible medicine use.

The final segment focuses on a Dengue Early Warning System being developed by researchers at the Institute of Advanced Virology in Keralam. The system combines disease surveillance data with rainfall, temperature and humidity to generate weekly, district-level forecasts using machine learning.

Trained on six years of data, from March 2020 to February 2026, the system aims to help health authorities anticipate increases in dengue transmission. If validated, the forecasts could support earlier surveillance, mosquito-control measures, healthcare preparedness and public alerts. The system is still under development and evaluation.

The episode ends with a fun fact about dengue mosquito eggs, which can remain dormant for months in dry conditions and hatch when water becomes available. Even seemingly dry containers can harbour eggs that may contribute to future mosquito populations.

The episode can also be viewed on The Hindu health page along with the full playlist of The Health Wrap