Kerala High Court Hears Plea on ‘Exorbitant’ Pricing of Ribociclib

The Kerala High Court allows a breast cancer patient to be impleaded in a petition that considers the issue of the “exorbitant” price of the breast cancer medicine Ribociclib. The petition concerns Ribociclib being described as a “life-saving” medication for breast cancer.

Ribociclib (Anticancer Medicine):

Dimension	Key Details
Drug category	Ribociclib belongs to a group of drugs called CDK 4/6 (cyclin-dependent kinase) inhibitors.
Use	Ribociclib is an anticancer medicine used in combination with other medicines to treat certain types of breast cancer.
Mechanism of action	CDK 4/6 inhibitors block the action of kinase, which is a protein that helps cells to grow and divide.
Therapeutic effect	Blocking kinase stops the growth and spread of cancer.
Breast cancer indications listed	Ribociclib is a treatment for breast cancer that is advanced or metastatic, and locally advanced (spread to nearby lymph nodes, muscle, and skin, but not to other parts of the body).
Co-administration	Ribociclib is always given alongside a hormone therapy drug to treat breast cancer.
Adverse effects	Since the growth of normal cells may also be affected by the medicine, other unwanted effects also occur, and some may be serious and must be reported to a doctor.