Mumbai, Aug. 24 -- Cancer patients can expect a significant reduction in treatment costs, after the National Cancer Grid (NCG) negotiated discounts of up to 85% for bulk procurement of key cancer medicines. The discount, applicable to 50 hospitals that are members of the NGC, will also allow essential drugs to reach even remote areas where pharma companies were earlier reluctant to supply medicines due to the high transport costs. The NCG, funded by the Department of Atomic Energy, involves over 380 hospitals, research centres, and NGOs across India and 15 other countries. According to the NGC's convenor and the Tata Memorial Centre's director Dr CS Pramesh, the initiative aims to ensure that patients have access to high-quality drugs at reduced costs. The discount was announced during the NGC's annual meeting on August 2, held at the Tata Memorial Center. Of the many healthcare centres that attended the meeting, 50 hospitals will benefit from the cheaper drugs, while the NGC tries to expand the negotiations to apply to all its member-hospitals. Dr Pramesh said that this marks the second cycle of the programme, whose pilot was launched in 2019, involving 40 drugs which could be bought in bulk at discounted prices across 23 hospitals. The recent development comes after the NGC assured pharma companies of a higher-volume of demand for high quality essential drugs. Dr Prameshsaid, "This will especially benefit those with advanced-stage cancers, who require larger quantities of medicines. With this agreement, remote hospitals will not face the stockouts they usually did, as companies are now bound to supply." The initiative covers medications required in chemotherapy, supportive care, antibiotics, antifungals, and 260 other drugs....