Govt to lower prices of cancer and complex disease medicines

The government is preparing to make cancer and other complex disease treatments more affordable and accessible through significant policy changes in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget.

In the proposed 2025-26 budget, duty and tax exemptions on the import of raw materials for all medicines—including cancer-preventive drugs—will be expanded. This is expected to reduce the cost of life-saving medicines for consumers.

Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, Finance Adviser to the interim government, revealed these measures during the budget speech on Monday.

“To strengthen the domestic pharmaceutical industry and ensure affordable medicines, we propose broadening duty and tax exemption benefits on the import of raw materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs),” he said.

The budget also includes proposals to lower duties and taxes on medical equipment imported for referral hospitals and hospitals with more than 50 beds. This move aims to enhance advanced healthcare services across divisional and district levels.

Recognizing healthcare’s importance, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been allocated Tk 41,908 crore in the new budget—an increase of Tk 501 crore from the previous year. Recruitment efforts for healthcare professionals are being accelerated to ensure universal health coverage.

Additionally, Tk 4,166 crore has been proposed to provide free medical treatment to underprivileged groups, alongside Tk 1,000 crore allocated for an expanded vaccination program.

The 2025-26 budget also targets economic stability and growth, with a total size of Tk 7.9 lakh crore. This marks a Tk 7,000 crore decrease from the current fiscal year, the first-ever reduction in Bangladesh’s budget size.