Thailand Produces Two Cancer Drugs, Bolstered by Princess Chulabhorn's Vision

 

Thailand is now able to produce two of its own targeted cancer drugs, significantly reducing the need for expensive imports and expanding treatment opportunities for patients across the nation. 

 

 

This landmark achievement is attributed to the vision and compassion of Her Royal Highness Princess Prof Dr Chulabhorn Krom Phra Srisavangavadhana.

 

The ability to domestically produce 'targeted cancer drugs' offers a crucial benefit: enhanced patient access. These highly specialised medications typically come with exorbitant price tags. 

 

For instance, the imported version of 'Trastuzumab', a drug now replicated in Thailand, can cost around 1 million baht per course of treatment, or roughly 100,000 baht per injection. 

 

While the 'Gold Card' universal healthcare scheme offers some coverage, it often comes with strict conditions.

 

Targeted therapy drugs work by specifically attacking cancer cells, precisely destroying or inhibiting them while minimising damage to healthy cells. 

 

This approach significantly reduces the severe side effects often associated with traditional treatments like chemotherapy and allows for more agile adjustments to treatment plans based on an individual patient's disease progression.

 

 

Her Royal Highness's far-sighted approach to public health has consistently prioritised the advancement of medicine and public health in Thailand. 

 

Recognising the immense financial burden and difficulty faced by ordinary citizens in accessing effective, yet costly, biological drugs – particularly for cancer – she initiated and laid the groundwork for domestic biological drug development.

 

This led to the establishment of the "Biologics Research and Development Centre" where researchers at the Chulabhorn Research Institute were tasked with pioneering and developing biological drugs that meet stringent international standards for effective patient use. 

 

This endeavour not only fosters national self-reliance in pharmaceutical production but also bolsters drug security and curbs significant economic outflow.

 

Most recently, on 20 May 2025, the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the Ministry of Public Health, approved the registration of 'HERDARA'. 

 

This breakthrough drug, developed through local biologics research, is similar to 'Trastuzumab' and is used to treat breast cancer and other malignancies. 

 

Notably, it is Thailand's first domestically produced biological drug developed without reliance on foreign technology transfer.

 

Similarly, 'IMCRANIB 100' has been developed for various cancers, including chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST), and dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP). 
 

 

This drug works by inhibiting the Tyrosine kinase enzyme, effectively suppressing cancer cell growth and spread, leading to better disease control and fewer side effects compared to conventional chemotherapy.

 

While Imatinib, the active ingredient in 'IMCRANIB 100', is already reimbursed by health funds for several conditions, some diseases and stages currently face limitations. 

 

Domestic production will overcome these restrictions by broadening the drug's availability to cover all indicated treatments, ultimately increasing opportunities for disease control, alleviating suffering, and genuinely enhancing patients' quality of life.

 

'IMCRANIB 100' is being produced at the Royal Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant Project, located at Phra Tamnak Phimanmas, Sattahip District, Chonburi Province. 

 

Established in 2020, this facility serves as Thailand's first modern, integrated, and comprehensive prototype plant for pharmaceutical production, enhancing research and development capabilities for cancer patient pharmaceuticals from initial research to final product. 

 

It is also the first cancer drug manufacturing plant in Thailand to receive international GMDP PIC/s (Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Distribution Practice) certification, demonstrating strong pharmaceutical research capabilities.

 

Chulabhorn Hospital, a specialised cancer treatment centre, will begin utilising 'IMCRANIB 100' from July 2025. 

 

Its Oncology Centre will act as a vital link, systematically translating medical science knowledge and the potential for high-quality domestic drug production into practical application for patients.