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The first of a promising new class of cancer drugs went on sale in Japan this week at an average annual cost of $143,000 a patient, a harbinger of hefty prices the new drugs are expected to command in the U.S.and Europe in coming months. Bristol-Myers, which plans to market nivolumab in the U.S. if the FDA clears it for sale, declined to say how much it will charge. A spokeswoman said the company prices its medicines based on “the value they deliver to patients and society, the scientific innovation they represent and the investment required to support” drug research-and-development.
Higher prices for new cancer drugs have become an increasing concern for patients and their families, who often shoulder high copayments. At the same time, the PD-1 drugs “have the potential to be game-changers for a lot of people” because patients in studies have had “meaningful, long-term responses” to the drugs. PD-1 targeting drugs have shown strong cancer-fighting results in clinical trials.
Bristol-Myers, which plans to market nivolumab in the U.S. if the FDA clears it for sale, declined to say how much it will charge. A spokeswoman said the company prices its medicines based on “the value they deliver to patients and society, the scientific innovation they represent and the investment required to support” drug research-and-development. Bristol-Myers has been marketing another kind of cancer immunotherapy, Yervoy, as a melanoma treatment in the U.S. since 2011 at a cost of $120,000 a patient for a standard, complete course of treatment.
Via Pharma Guy, Krishan Maggon
On Quora, I posted the question: "How close are the pharmaceutical companies to "curing" cancer?" (see here) and got some interesting feedback. Dan Munro (@danmunro), Founder / CEO - iPatient, had this to say:
"While curing a given cancer is clearly a worthwhile goal - it is often not the primary focus - and early detection is still the leading indicator of successfully treating all cancers. Some cancers are simply pushed so far into remission that you're more likely to die of a different cancer or old age in your sleep. It's not a technical cure - but it's a practical one.
"The sad reality is this: The death rate for cancer (adjusted for the size and age of the population) has dropped only 5% from 1950 to 2005 (see here).
So, (1) the reality is that the death rate for cancer hasn't improved very much in the past 50 years, and (2) pharma's little "pills" haven't contributed much to that statistic. Shame on Bayer for taking credit where none is due!
High cost of new life saving cancer and HCV drugs. Increasing safety and efficacy bar means limited chances of success and higher costs for the pharma biotech industry due to regulatory burden.
http://www.refadoc.com/tag/cancer