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The search for two common cancer drugs outside the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, leads to the same answer, pharmacy after pharmacy: “No stock.” The drugs in question, cisplatin and carboplatin, are prescribed for chemotherapy across the country. But when Down To Earth (DTE) approached attendants at three pharmacies near AIIMS on August 6, all of them responded that they had run out of the drugs weeks ago and had not seen any fresh stocks in at least two months. None of the attendants knew when they may receive the drug again.
Since May, doctors, patients and pharmacists across states have shared similar reports of being unable to source cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin, three platinum-based chemotherapy drugs used to treat a range of cancers including lung, head and neck.
Media reports documented cases where patients were forced to travel to other cities to find the medicines, or where doctors administered alternative, less effective medications to continue treatment.
Speaking to DTE, Ullas Batra, oncologist at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre in Delhi, explained that the shortage of cisplastin and carboplatin has also stalled treatment of patients. In a country where one in nine people is at risk of developing cancer, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research, a long period of drug shortage may hamper the battle against the disease.
The primary reason for the shortage is a disruption in drug manufacturing. While India manufactures the three drugs within the country, it does not have sufficient quantities of the main raw material, platinum. India therefore imports the metal from a number of countries including South Africa, the world’s largest producer of the metal, along with the UAE and Tanzania. Supplies of platinum have seen major disruption since the start of the West Asian conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major trade route off the coast of Iran, earlier this year.
The bigger shock has been due to a surge in platinum prices. The metal is used not only by pharmaceuticals, but also the jewellery and automotive industries. It is also a component in semiconductors and other electronic products, and so sees increasing demand from the technology…
This article was originally published in the August 16-31, 2026 print edition of Down To Earth