Relief for Cancer Patients as Pfizer Cuts Cost of Treatment Medicines

Cancer patients in Kenya are set to benefit from significantly lower treatment costs after the government reached an agreement with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to reduce the prices of selected medicines used in cancer treatment.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the agreement would see the cost of medicines used by cancer patients fall by more than sevenfold.

The reduced prices are expected to complement the Ksh 800,000 cancer treatment package provided under the Social Health Authority (SHA).

“Specific medicines and drugs that are used by cancer patients, the prices have been reduced sevenfold,” Duale said.

Pfizer Deal to Lower Cancer Treatment Costs

The agreement between the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) and Pfizer was reached under the pharmaceutical company’s “Not for Profit Accord for a Healthier World” initiative.

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Under the arrangement, the government expects the lower medicine prices to enable the SHA cancer package to cover patients for the required number of treatment cycles without additional out-of-pocket payments.

“Our patients who have cancer can go and use those drugs and then that will cover them for the 800,000 and the number of cycles they do, making sure that they will have no out-of-pocket payment,” Duale said.

For breast cancer, the indicative cost of one treatment medicine will fall from Ksh 42,000 to just over Ksh 6,000.

In the case of gastric cancer, the cost of one treatment medicine will drop from Ksh60,000 to less than Ksh12,000.

Blood cancer patients will also benefit from the reductions, with the cost of some treatment lines falling from Ksh 170,000 to about Ksh 17,800.

Additionally, the government said seven Pfizer oncology products have already received marketing authorization from the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, allowing them to be supplied under the new arrangement.

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Government Strengthens Cancer Screening

Duale said the lower medicine prices would help ensure the Ksh 800,000 cancer package covers patients for the number of treatment cycles they require.

“If the prices of the medicines are very high, then the 800,000 package will not be enough for the patient in terms of the number of cycles they’re supposed to undergo,” he said.

Beyond treatment costs, the government is also strengthening efforts to detect cancer earlier by integrating screening, detection and prevention into primary healthcare.

As part of the approach, Kenyans visiting Level Two, Level Three and Level Four facilities for different illnesses would also undergo cancer screening, allowing health workers to identify the disease earlier.

“We want to integrate the screening, the detection and the prevention in the primary healthcare. Where when a Kenyan goes to a facility in level two, level three, and level four for any ailment, it can be malaria, it can be anything else but he’s tested or she’s tested for cancer, so we must reduce,” he said

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A photo of Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale holding a plaque alongside Pfizer Global Emerging Markets President Nick Lagunowich during a high-level meeting at Afya House, Nairobi, on June 23, 2025. PHOTO/ MoH