Seven minutes, against at least a couple of hours. That is the pitch for Tecentriq SC, the under-the-skin version of Roche’s lung cancer immunotherapy atezolizumab, which the company launched in India on May 14, 2026.
“By reducing treatment administration time to approximately seven minutes, Tecentriq SC is a breakthrough innovation that has the potential to dramatically improve the cancer treatment experience of patients,” Roche India said in a statement, putting the cut in treatment time at 80 percent. The drug is approved for adjuvant and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Tecentriq first reached India as an intravenous infusion in 2018.
What patients get
Doctors are enthusiastic about the delivery. Dr. Sajjan Rajpurohit, director and head of medical oncology at Medanta in Noida and Defence Colony, said cancer patients can be so frail that finding a vein becomes a chore, and that an injection under the skin means less pain. Dr. Amit Rauthan, who heads medical oncology at Manipal Hospital in Bangalore, pointed to something less obvious. “You don’t need a complicated set-up; a trained nurse in a facility closer to home can deliver the drug,” he said, adding that compliance has improved.
Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in India, with about 80,000 cases diagnosed each year. About half of those patients could be fit for the therapy, and the ideal candidates carry the PD-L1 marker.
The catch is the price
A single vial carries a maximum retail price of around Rs 3.7 lakh, and a patient may need about six cycles. Rajpurohit allowed that the bill could come in lower, since duration depends on stage and response. Doctors say roughly 15 percent of their patients can pay without help. With support, that rises to about 40 percent.
Roche points to its Blue Tree patient support program and interest-free EMI options. Rajan S, the company’s chief communications officer, said he hears the subcutaneous version is also being added to the Central Government Health Scheme, which “will bring down the overall cost significantly.”
Follow the money
The Economic Times offered a commercial reading. The subcutaneous form is bioequivalent to the 1200 mg intravenous dose but sold at 1,875 mg, because absorption under the skin is lower and slower. Such formulations, the paper noted, also help drug makers stretch a brand’s commercial life and delay cheaper generic copies.
That matters for Roche. Tecentriq’s patent exclusivity runs through 2030, and in 2025 it remained the company’s leading oncology product, with sales of 3.6 billion Swiss francs, around $4.5 billion. US sales are under pressure from rival biologics, including AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi, Merck’s Keytruda and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo, while international markets helped lift the total by 3 percent. The UK approved the subcutaneous version in 2023 and the US FDA followed in September 2024.
Sources
- Roche launches subcutaneous lung cancer immunotherapy, cuts delivery time to 7 min
- Roche launches Cancer blockbuster Tecentriq subcutaneous form in India
