How a seven-minute cancer injection could change lung cancer care in India

Team TOI PlusTNN & Agencies
May 21, 2026 | 15:36 IST
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Roche’s subcutaneous Tecentriq can be given in about seven minutes, cutting infusion time dramatically. But its impact in India will depend on patient selection, local post-marketing data, hospital readiness and whether a costly immunotherapy can become accessible beyond large private cancer centres

For many lung cancer patients in India, treatment is not only about the drug. It is also about the day built around it: the early start from home, the wait at a crowded cancer centre, the search for an infusion chair, the drip, the observation time, the caregiver who has taken leave from work, and the long journey back. For patients who need repeated cycles of treatment, these hospital hours become part of the burden of cancer itself.

Roche Pharma India’s newly launched Tecentriq SC is aimed at reducing some of that burden. It is an under-the-skin version of Tecentriq, the company’s lung cancer immunotherapy, and can be administered in about seven minutes instead of through a longer intravenous infusion that takes up to 80 minutes.
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