“During the active phase of treatment for a patient with cancer in Medicare’s Oncology Care Model, antineoplastic drug costs represented more than 50% of the total cost of care in 2018 and are expected to contribute nearly 70% of the total cost of active care by 2025 and more than 80% by 2030, 10 years from now. [..] Any solution that relies solely on one of the actors in the drug distribution and delivery system is doomed to failure because no one wants to be the “bad guy.” What is needed is a convener with power (likely the US federal … Read More
All posts in Drug Pricing
“Superbugs are not a unique problem to COVID-19, of course; they already kill 35,000 Americans every year. If bacteria continue evolving to outwit antibiotics, however, the World Health Organization estimates they will become the leading global cause of death by 2050. [..] The ability of biotech upstarts to earn revenue clashes with the basics of evolutionary biology. Superbugs develop as bacteria accumulate mutations over time, forming strains that elegantly evade our existing antibiotic arsenal. The more consistently a bug goes up against one of our trusted antibiotics, the more likely it is to evolve to escape it. Accordingly, to prevent … Read More
“The authors [Emanuel EJ et al. in a JAMA Internal Medicine Special Communication also published today] suggest that the United States should learn from its peers, from other developed nations that have created publicly accountable institutions for health technology assessment and drug price determination and that have reaped a return in the form of prices that are lower and better aligned with clinical value than drug prices in the United States. [..] Payers in the United States (governmental programs, self-insured employers, insurers, pharmacy benefit managers) conduct their own implicit health technology assessments but usually without the transparency or evidence focus … Read More