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 The study of cancer drug prices in seven countries, which did not
take into account discounts or rebates to list prices, was presented
at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
in Chicago.
The lowest drug prices were found in India and South Africa. But
after calculating price as a percentage of wealth adjusted for the
cost of living, cancer drugs appeared to be least affordable in
India and China.
Researchers at Rabin Medical Center in Petah-Tikvah, Israel,
calculated monthly drug doses for 15 generic and eight brand-name
cancer drugs used to treat a wide range of cancer types and stages.
List prices in Australia, China, India, South Africa, the United
Kingdom, Israel, and the United States were obtained from government
websites.
The high prices commanded by modern cancer drugs are generating
increased resistance and demands for price discounts from
politicians, health care providers, insurers, patients and some
doctors.
Drug companies argue that they need to make a profit to pay for the
billions of dollars needed for drug research. Many companies also
have extensive low-cost or free access schemes for patients who
cannot afford their medicines.
The study researchers used gross domestic product and cost of living
statistics from the International Monetary Fund to estimate drug
price affordability.
Median monthly prices for branded drugs ranged from $1,515 in India
to $8,694 in the United States. For generics, median prices were
highest in the United States, at $654, and lowest in South Africa,
$120, and India, $159.
In terms of ability to pay, the study found cancer drugs to be most
affordable in Australia, where generic drugs were priced at 3
percent of "domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity"
and patented drugs were 71 percent of the same measure.
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In China, the study found generic drug prices were 48 percent and
patented drugs were 288 percent of wealth adjusted for the cost of
living.
In India, the cost of generics was 33 percent of that measure, while
patented drugs were 313 percent.
In the United States, generics were found to be priced at 14 percent
of wealth adjusted for the cost of living, and patented cancer drugs
were 192 percent of the same measure.
The study did not take into account that drug costs are paid by
either the government, health insurers, or patients themselves,
depending on each country's health insurance system.
Worldwide spending on cancer medicines will exceed $150 billion by
2020, driven by the emergence of expensive new therapies that help
the immune system to attack tumors, according to a forecast earlier
this year from IMS Health Holdings.
(Reporting By Deena Beasley; Editing by Bill Rigby)
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