The price of U.S. cancer drugs after they hit the market was not affected by new competition, new supplemental FDA approvals or new off-label indications, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
For the study, researchers examined changes in mean monthly costs for 24 FDA-approved injectable cancer drugs. Researchers said they used the average sales prices published by the CMS to account for discounts and rebates and adjusted to U.S. general and health-related inflation rates. They determined the cumulative and annual drug price changes and subsequently analyzed how market structure affects price changes over time.
The study found after an eight-year follow-up period, the mean percent change in price for all drugs was 25 percent, or 18 percent after adjusting for inflation.
Specifically, inflation-adjusted monthly prices for leukemia drugs Rituximab and trastuzumab increased by 49 percent and 44 percent, respectively, according to the study. In a news release, researchers note ziv-aflibercept/Zaltrap for metastatic colorectal cancer was the only drug price that fell over time.
"Anticancer drug costs may change substantially after launch. Regardless of competition or supplemental indications, there is a steady increase in costs of patented anticancer agents over time," researchers concluded. "New regulations may be needed to prevent additional increases in drug costs after launch."
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