Review of Current Policy Strategies to Reduce US Cancer Drug Costs.

Abstract

Recent breakthroughs in cancer drugs have led to practice-changing paradigms in cancer care and new treatment options, yet patients, insurers, and policymakers struggle with determining how to afford them. Although cancer is currently among the fastest growing therapeutic areas for drug sales and the primary focus for industry research and development, rising cancer drug costs are unsustainable for the US health care system. Furthermore, financial toxicity compromises access to recommended therapies, reduces quality of life, and potentially shortens survival among patients with cancer. Averaging 12% to 15% growth each year, US health care spending on cancer drugs is projected to grow to $100 billion by 2022. In 2017, the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah; Novartis, Basel, Switzerland), and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta; Kite Pharma, Santa Monica, CA) broke the price record with one-time price tags of $475,000 and $373,000, respectively, far exceeding the estimated $150,000 average cost of cancer care and treatment.