Indian drugs tariffs cut as ‘Dying to Survive’ touches hearts

China and India have agreed to reduce tariffs on imported Indian drugs, including anti-cancer medicine, just days after a comedic film about smuggling affordable drugs from India to China won the hearts of the Chinese movie-goers.

Announced by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday, China will slash taxes on Indian pharmaceutical drugs by 33 percent to allow Chinese patients greater access.

“We believe that stronger pharmaceutical trade cooperation will contribute to the wellbeing of the people in our two countries,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in the announcement, mentioning that the blockbuster has touched “on the issue of anti-cancer drugs from India.”

The dark comedy is loosely based on a remarkable real-life story about a leukemia patient who smuggled generic drugs from India to China to save the lives of fellow patients. Since its official release on July 5, the film has already amassed more than 1.9 billion yuan (283 million) at the box office.

Indian medicine, especially cancer drugs, are in high demand in China since they are far cheaper than the domestically available ones. Many generic drugs from India cost about one-tenth of the price of their Western counterparts sold in China.

However, Indian drug manufacturers are not too thrilled about the tariffs reduction as they cannot legally sell their products in the Chinese market, which requires a license from the Chinese government.

According to Hua, China will continue to open up and expand its imports in support of China’s development as well as fair trade. Despite the tariffs reduction, many imported drugs in China are still exorbitantly priced, leaving no other treatment options for patients who cannot afford them.

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