From 2011 to 2015, 70 new oncology therapies were launched for more than 20 uses, driving the global market for cancer treatments to $107 billion in 2015. However, patients cannot yet obtain many of these drugs in most countries, and even when registered these drugs may not be reimbursed under public insurance programs, according to a new study released Thursday by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.
Here are 11 findings from the study.
1. More than 500 companies are actively pursuing oncology drug development worldwide. These companies, together, are advancing almost 600 new molecules through late-stage clinical development, most frequently for non-small cell lung cancer and breast, prostate, ovarian and colorectal cancers, according to the study.
2. Global growth in the oncology drug market each year is expected to be 7.5 – 10.5 percent through 2020, reaching $150 billion. Drivers of this growth include wider utilization of new products — especially immunotherapies — offset by reduced use of some existing treatments with inferior clinical outcomes.
3. According to the study, payers are expected to tighten their negotiation stance with manufacturers and take on new payment models to get more value from their expenditures on these drugs.
4. The pipeline of cancer treatments in clinical development grew by more than 60 percent during the past 10 years, the study found, with almost 90 percent of the focus on targeted agents. The median time from patent filing to approval for oncology drugs in 2015 was 9.5 years, compared to 10.3 years in 2013. The reduction may be, in part, due to a series of initiatives, including the FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation introduced in 2012, the study notes.
5. Of the 49 oncology new active substances analyzed that were initially launched between 2010 and 2014, fewer than half were available to patients by the end of 2015 in all but six countries: the U.S., Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, France and Canada. According to the study, this is indicative of manufacturers' efforts to file for registration in each country, as well as the regulatory process and timing.
6. The study found targeted immunotherapies are available in most developed countries, but none of the emerging markets outside of the European Union has yet registered these treatments. And, the study notes, even when available through the regulatory review process, not all cancer drugs are accessible to patients because of lack of reimbursement under public insurance programs.
7. The annual growth rate in cancer drug costs has risen from 3.8 percent in 2011 to 11.5 percent in 2015, at constant exchange rates. Growth in the U.S. market increased from 2 percent to 13.9 percent in the same period.
8. The U.S. now accounts for about 45 percent of the global total market for therapeutics, up from 39 percent in 2011, the study found. This is partly because of the strengthening of the U.S. dollar and more rapid adoption of newer therapies.
9. In the U.S., cancer drugs dispensed through retail channels now account for more than one-third of total costs, up from 25 percent a decade ago and typically covered by pharmacy benefits. This reflects a shift in the mix of new therapies toward oral medicines, eliminating the need for injection or infusion in a physician's office or outpatient facility.
10. Only 17 percent of U.S. oncologists are in independent practices, unaffiliated with some type of integrated delivery network or corporate parent, down from 28 percent in 2010.
11. Average total treatment costs for patients in commercial insurance plans with a cancer diagnosis who are receiving active treatment reached $58,000 in 2014, up 19 percent from 2013.
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