The commissioning of the proposed Oncology Park would help bring down the prices of cancer medicines, Industries Minister P. Rajeeve said here on Sunday. He was speaking at the inauguration of the silver jubilee celebrations of the Neethi Medical Store scheme launched by the State government through the Kerala State Cooperative Consumers’ Federation.
Mr. Rajeeve said Kerala was preparing itself for a big push in medicine sales. The government is establishing the Oncology Park on the Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals (KSDP) premises in Alappuzha at an investment of ₹241 crore. The unit would begin production of cancer medicines by next year, he added. It is expected that the sale of medicines will help the KSDP achieve a total turnover of ₹1,000 crore a year. The Minister said if the KSDP and Neethi Medical Stores operated in tandem, it would help.
Kerala’s cooperative sector was an example for other States, the Minister said, adding that the success of deposit campaigns by the sector was an instance of the trust it had generated among people.