The most common myths debunked โ with the actual evidence โ pulled from DuskNews stories.
Health
Myth
Biosimilars are inferior copies.** Fact: Regulatory agencies including the US FDA require biosimilars to demonstrate no clinically meaningful difference from the originator in safety and efficacy. Multiple clinical trials โ including studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine โ confirm biosimilar trastuzumab delivers identical breast cancer outcomes to Herceptin. **Myth: Indian biosimilars are only for low-income markets.** Fact: Biocon's biosimilar insulin and trastuzumab are approved and sold in the United States, Germany, France, and 70+ other countries. They are not a developing-world substitute; they are the same drug at a lower price. **Myth: Big Pharma will always maintain its advantage in biologics.** Fact: The 2025-2030 patent cliff covers over $180 billion in originator biologic revenue. Every dollar of that is contestable by biosimilar makers โ and Indian companies are the best-positioned manufacturers outside Korea to contest it.
Reality
Regulatory agencies including the US FDA require biosimilars to demonstrate no clinically meaningful difference from the originator in safety and efficacy. Multiple clinical trials โ including studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine โ confirm biosimilar trastuzumab delivers identical breast cancer outcomes to Herceptin. **Myth: Indian biosimilars are only for low-income markets.** Fact: Biocon's biosimilar insulin and trastuzumab are approved and sold in the United States, Germany, France, and 70+ other countries. They are not a developing-world substitute; they are the same drug at a lower price. **Myth: Big Pharma will always maintain its advantage in biologics.** Fact: The 2025-2030 patent cliff covers over $180 billion in originator biologic revenue. Every dollar of that is contestable by biosimilar makers โ and Indian companies are the best-positioned manufacturers outside Korea to contest it.
Health
Myth
vegetarian eating is automatically complete. Fact: it can be excellent when B12, iron, zinc, and omega-three pathways are planned with fortified foods or supplements. Myth: dal and spinach alone fix iron. Fact: absorption rules dominate; tea timing and vitamin C pairing matter more than volume alone. Myth: only the poor are deficient. Fact: affluent vegetarians often show low B12 while affluent office workers show low vitamin D. Naming myths reduces blame and redirects families toward cheap fixes like weekly IFA formats and dairy fortification once regulations bite.
Reality
it can be excellent when B12, iron, zinc, and omega-three pathways are planned with fortified foods or supplements. Myth: dal and spinach alone fix iron. Fact: absorption rules dominate; tea timing and vitamin C pairing matter more than volume alone. Myth: only the poor are deficient. Fact: affluent vegetarians often show low B12 while affluent office workers show low vitamin D. Naming myths reduces blame and redirects families toward cheap fixes like weekly IFA formats and dairy fortification once regulations bite.
Health
Myth
India is the world's pharmacy, so domestic shortages are impossible. Fact: India is indeed the largest generic exporter but is structurally import-dependent on bulk APIs, especially from China. The 68% API import share creates a real domestic vulnerability that the 2020 COVID supply shock exposed and the 2026 shortage demonstrates again. Myth: shortages affect only government hospitals because of inefficiency. Fact: a 2024 study in Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia found that 38% of India's private retail pharmacies also faced periodic stock-outs of essential medicines. The shortages cross sectors but the burden falls heaviest on the poor in government hospitals. Myth: generic drugs are unsafe and the shortages are about quality issues. Fact: generic drugs in India must clear the same CDSCO bioequivalence and quality standards as branded products. The 2026 shortages are about procurement and supply chain failure, not quality. Myth: Jan Aushadhi has solved India's medicine affordability problem. Fact: Jan Aushadhi has reduced prices for those who can reach a store and find stock โ but as the 2026 data shows, 80% of stores currently have at least one essential drug stock-out. Coverage is wide, reliability is not. Myth: API self-reliance is round the corner. Fact: the PLI bulk drug scheme is genuinely shifting the needle, but at current pace will not hit the under-30% import target before 2030.
Reality
India is indeed the largest generic exporter but is structurally import-dependent on bulk APIs, especially from China. The 68% API import share creates a real domestic vulnerability that the 2020 COVID supply shock exposed and the 2026 shortage demonstrates again. Myth: shortages affect only government hospitals because of inefficiency. Fact: a 2024 study in Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia found that 38% of India's private retail pharmacies also faced periodic stock-outs of essential medicines. The shortages cross sectors but the burden falls heaviest on the poor in government hospitals. Myth: generic drugs are unsafe and the shortages are about quality issues. Fact: generic drugs in India must clear the same CDSCO bioequivalence and quality standards as branded products. The 2026 shortages are about procurement and supply chain failure, not quality. Myth: Jan Aushadhi has solved India's medicine affordability problem. Fact: Jan Aushadhi has reduced prices for those who can reach a store and find stock โ but as the 2026 data shows, 80% of stores currently have at least one essential drug stock-out. Coverage is wide, reliability is not. Myth: API self-reliance is round the corner. Fact: the PLI bulk drug scheme is genuinely shifting the needle, but at current pace will not hit the under-30% import target before 2030.
Health
Myth
Indian hospitals are cheap because quality is low.** Fact: JCI accreditation โ the global gold standard for hospital safety and quality โ is held by 75+ Indian hospitals, more than any other Asian nation except Thailand. Multiple peer-reviewed studies published in the Lancet and BMJ have documented outcomes at Apollo and Narayana Health equal to or better than UK NHS outcomes for comparable procedures. **Myth: Only poor patients choose India.** Fact: A growing proportion of medical tourists are middle-class patients from UK, Canada, and Australia who face long wait times at home (the average NHS wait for a hip replacement is 18 months; Apollo delivers it in 3 days). **Myth: Medical tourism benefits only the private sector.** Fact: AIIMS New Delhi treats over 50,000 international patients per year, mostly from South Asian neighbours, at near-public rates. Government hospitals capture a significant fraction of lower-income medical tourists, effectively providing subsidised care to neighbouring-country nationals.
Reality
JCI accreditation โ the global gold standard for hospital safety and quality โ is held by 75+ Indian hospitals, more than any other Asian nation except Thailand. Multiple peer-reviewed studies published in the Lancet and BMJ have documented outcomes at Apollo and Narayana Health equal to or better than UK NHS outcomes for comparable procedures. **Myth: Only poor patients choose India.** Fact: A growing proportion of medical tourists are middle-class patients from UK, Canada, and Australia who face long wait times at home (the average NHS wait for a hip replacement is 18 months; Apollo delivers it in 3 days). **Myth: Medical tourism benefits only the private sector.** Fact: AIIMS New Delhi treats over 50,000 international patients per year, mostly from South Asian neighbours, at near-public rates. Government hospitals capture a significant fraction of lower-income medical tourists, effectively providing subsidised care to neighbouring-country nationals.