Pricing of oncology meds negatively impacts treatment access, says analyst

Today (February 4) marks this year’s World Cancer Day, but, in the midst of debate about the high cost of cancer drugs, it raises the question as to whether governments, payers, pharmaceutical companies and providers will individually step up in 2019 to improve access to cancer treatment.

Offering her view on the situation Tajekesa Chapman,oncology and hematology analyst at analytics firm GlobalData, says that a recent survey by GlobalData found that drug pricing and reimbursement constraints will have the greatest negative impact on the pharmaceutical industry in 2019.

Advances in cancer treatments, such as immunotherapies, personalized and precision medicines have been associated with a corresponding rise in the cost of cancer treatment, despite having uncertain clinical value. The level of uncertainty on the long-term benefits and the cost effectiveness of novel oncology medicines, results in extended negotiations on pricing and reimbursement and delays patient access.