Cancer treatments are becoming ‘unaffordable’, say GlobalData analysts
High prices will drive rapid transition to generics and market decline
The rising prices of new cancer drugs are resulting in increasing costs for patients and healthcare systems that do not necessarily correlate with the benefit the drug provides, and which are driving the rapid transition to generics and limiting the use of new market entrants, say analysts at UK research and consultancy firm GlobalData.
With the vast majority of cancer drugs approved in 2012 costing more than US$100,000 for 12 months of treatment, the life-extension of patients has quickly become prohibitively expensive, according to Irfaan Dawood, an oncology analyst at GlobalData.
‘From a decade ago, where it used to cost $5,000–$20,000 to prolong life for a year, we have reached a position where each incremental benefit in increasing overall survival or progression-free survival has become more costly and could soon become unaffordable,’ he said.
In a recent article published in the journal Blood, a consortium of doctors condemned the high prices of BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). They argued that although innovation and discovery must be rewarded, the cost of care is spiralling out of control as the life expectancies of CML patients approach those of the normal population.
The group questioned the rationale adopted by drug developers in pricing new therapies at a 10–20% premium over similar drugs, and continuously increasing the costs of currently marketed therapies.
While new drugs are clinically promising, the benefit to cost ratio has proved unconvincing
Findings from research with key opinion leaders conducted by GlobalData echoed these concerns, and showed that while new drugs are clinically promising, the benefit to cost ratio has proved unconvincing.
Ultimately, the high cost of TKI therapy will also damage oncology market value, argued Cheryl Gradziel, also an oncology analyst for GlobalData.
‘CML patients are now living longer than ever, and must take costly TKI therapies for several years. This growing financial burden on global healthcare systems and on patients in some major markets will drive rapid transition to generics once they are launched,’ she said.
GlobalData expects sales of CML branded therapies in the seven major markets of the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Japan to fall from $3bn in 2012 to $2.1bn in 2022, at a negative compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5%, with the launch of generic equivalents of Novartis’ Gleevec (imatinib) and BMS’ Sprycel (dasatinib).
‘Even though third-generation drugs such as Pfizer’s Bosulif and Ariad’s Iclusig may be stronger than Gleevec, Sprycel or Novartis’ Tasigna, their enhanced efficacy will not compensate for high price tags and less desirable safety and side effects profiles. This will relegate their use to later lines of therapy,’ added Gradziel.
‘Pharmaceutical companies hoping to capture a share of these markets must begin to accept that the days of free pricing for oncology drugs are nearing their end, and recognise the major impact economics will have on the prescription of therapeutics.’
