• The global market for oncology therapeutic medicines will reach as much as $200 billion by 2022, averaging 10 to 13 percent growth over the next five years, with the U.S. market reaching as much as $100 billion by 2022, averaging 12 to 15 percent growth.
• Spending on cancer drugs has doubled over the past five years.
• The average cost of a new drug released in 2017 was $150,000.
• Cancer drug costs are expected to double again by 2022.
• While cancer rates and rates of death have been steadily dropping, drug spending will go up.

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• Americans paid twice as much as Canadians for health care, but they didn’t get twice the benefit, according to a new study of patients with advanced colorectal cancer who lived, in some cases, mere miles from each other.
• The increase in cancer drug prices in the last 15 years has many contributing factors and is harming our patients and our health care system.
• With typical out-of-pocket expenses of 20% to 30%, the financial burden of cancer treatment would be $20,000 to 30,000 a year, nearly half of the average annual household income in the United States. Many patients (estimated 10% to 20%) may decide not to take the treatment or may compromise significantly on the treatment plan. Source: Journal of Oncology Practice

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KEY TAKEAWAY: When the head of the FDA says “far too many patients find themselves in “a financial no-man’s land” because of shouldering the costs of cancer medications” you know that something is terribly wrong.  The fact is that patients and caregivers couldn’t give a damn about who is responsible for high drug costs they just want to empty life savings because of treatments. Continue reading →

KEY TAKEAWAY: When trade news publications start to question pharma practices on pricing and there is no response you have to wonder if they really care about the patients we serve at all. Continue reading →