For Riyaz Khan, a 32-year-old cancer patient from Srinagar, Kashmir, the anxiety of battling the disease has been made worse by a hunt for the chemotherapy medicines that could save his life.

A severe shortage of two mainstay chemotherapy drugs in India is being blamed on the soaring price of the rare metal platinum.

The silver-white precious metal is a key component of the drugs used for its ability to bind to the DNA of cancer cells and cause them to die.

Yet soaring prices and disruptions to global supply chains have badly hit India’s supplies of two of the country’s most important chemotherapy drugs: cisplatin and carboplatin.

“We had to make repeated enquiries and search through different pharmacies to ensure treatment was not delayed. For patients undergoing chemotherapy, every cycle matters and the uncertainty only adds to the stress,” Mr Khan told the Telegraph.

The drugs form a crucial part of treatment for millions of patients worldwide and are used to treat cancers of the lung, cervix, ovary, bladder, liver, head and neck as well as testicles.

Around one in five cancer patients depend on platinum-based chemotherapy, making these medicines among the most widely prescribed anti-cancer agents.

The supply crisis has prompted India’s National Pharmaceutical PricingAuthority (NPPA) to approve a 50 per cent increase in the ceiling prices of the two drugs, after manufacturers warned that rising costs had made production unsustainable.

The price of cisplatin rose from ₹7.26 (£0.06) per ml to ₹10.89 (£0.07) per ml, while carboplatin increased from ₹60.49 (£0.48) per ml to ₹90.74 (£0.72) per ml.

Unlike most medicines, these drugs depend on a precious metal. Once inside cancer cells, platinum binds to DNA and creates cross-links that prevent the cells from dividing, ultimately causing them to die.

Dr Umar Bashir, senior consultant medical and haemato-oncologist, said platinum gives these medicines their unique anti-cancer properties.

He said: “Cisplatin and carboplatin contain platinum, and that metal gives these medicines their anti-cancer activity. Once inside the cancer cell, platinum binds to DNA and creates cross-links that prevent the cell from dividing normally, eventually leading to cell death. Because of their proven effectiveness, these drugs remain a cornerstone of treatment for many solid tumours.”

Platinum-containing drugs are used extensively to treat lung, ovary, cervix, bladder, testicular and head and neck cancer. For several of these diseases they significantly improve survival.

Escalating tensions in the Middle East have contributed to a sharp rally in platinum prices during late 2025 and early 2026.

After trading largely between $850 (£642) and $1,100 (£830) per troy ounce from 2021 through 2024, platinum surged as investors reacted to supply-chain risks, rising energy costs, and broader commodity market uncertainty.

The metal briefly touched an all-time high of nearly $2,924 (£2,208) per ounce in January 2026 before retreating. As of mid-June 2026, platinum is trading around $1,720 (£1,298) per ounce – well below its peak but still significantly higher than levels seen over the previous four years.

The rise has been driven by a combination of tightening global supplies, strong industrial demand and increased investor interest in precious metals.

Platinum is also used extensively in automotive catalytic converters, hydrogen fuel-cell technologies, electronics and chemical manufacturing, meaning demand extends far beyond the pharmaceutical sector.

Geopolitical instability has compounded the problem. Conflict and insecurity in the Gulf and wider Middle East have disrupted key maritime trade routes linking Asia, Europe and Africa.

Many cargo vessels carrying raw materials now face higher insurance premiums, elevated security costs and, in some cases, longer journeys to avoid high-risk areas around the Red Sea and Suez Canal corridor.

These disruptions increase freight costs and delivery times, raising the cost of importing platinum and pharmaceutical ingredients into manufacturing centres such as India.

Industry estimates indicate that platinum prices in India have risen from around ₹2,000 (£16) per gram in 2025 to nearly ₹5,000 (£40) per gram this year. Higher freight charges, insurance costs and shipping disruptions linked to instability in the Middle East have further strained global supply chains.

Manufacturers say the economics of producing platinum-based chemotherapy drugs have become increasingly difficult as raw material costs have surged.

Speaking to Moneycontrol, Mohan Jain, Director of Naprod Life Sciences, said platinum prices had risen from around ₹2,000 (£16) per gram in mid-2025 to more than ₹5,000 (£40) per gram this year.

“Raw material costs often equal the product price, making it financially unsustainable for manufacturers,” he said, adding that existing price controls limited the industry’s ability to absorb rising input costs.

Manufacturers warned that unless prices were revised, production of  medicines such as cisplatin and carboplatin could become commercially unviable.

A hospital pharmacist at a leading cancer centre in Mumbai, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said procurement teams had to closely monitor inventories during the shortage.

“Supplies became tighter and hospitals had to keep a close watch on stock levels to ensure chemotherapy schedules were not disrupted. Any interruption in the availability of these medicines can have significant implications for patient care,” the pharmacist said.

Dr Waseem, consultant medical oncologist at Amandeep Hospital, Srinagar, said platinum compounds possess a unique chemical structure that makes them indispensable in cancer treatment.

“Platinum has variable oxidation states and forms square planar complexes, a geometry that allows these compounds to bind with DNA and form cross-links. This prevents cancer cells from replicating and ultimately leads to cell death,” he said.

According to Dr Waseem, nearly 20 per cent of cancer patients worldwide depend on platinum-based chemotherapy.

“Global shortages have already affected treatment schedules in several regions. Delays in chemotherapy cycles can allow the disease to progress, particularly in patients receiving curative treatment. At present, there are no equally effective alternatives to platinum-based chemotherapy for many cancers, which makes uninterrupted availability essential,” he added.

The problem is not unique to India. Severe shortages of cisplatin and carboplatin affected hospitals across the United States in 2023, forcing some cancer centres to ration supplies, prioritise patients and modify treatment schedules.

Similar concerns have periodically emerged in Europe and other regions as manufacturers struggle with supply-chain disruptions and fluctuating raw material costs. Although production has since improved, oncologists say platinum-based chemotherapy remains vulnerable to global supply shocks.

For oncologists, pharmacists and policymakers, the platinum shortage was a warning that the supply chains behind modern medicine are far more fragile than they appear. A disruption in a distant commodity market can quickly travel through factories, shipping lanes and hospitals before reaching the bedside of a patient awaiting treatment.

The immediate crisis may have eased, but the episode has highlighted a difficult reality: some of the world’s most essential medicines depend on materials whose availability is shaped by forces far beyond the control of doctors or patients.

For people like Riyaz Khan, the shortage was never about platinum prices, shipping costs or global trade routes. It was about whether the next dose of chemotherapy would arrive on time. And in cancer care, where every cycle can influence the outcome, that uncertainty can be as frightening as the disease itself.

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