Reimbursement and/or budget-related factors restrict use of angiogenesis inhibitor in Brazil and Mexico; Study

Depending on the tumor type, around one-quarter to one-third of surveyed Brazilian and Mexican oncologists’ patients who are eligible for treatment with angiogenesis inhibitors do not receive such therapy, primarily because of reimbursement and/or budget-related factors, according to a new report from advisory firm Decision Resources.

Interviewed payers from Brazil report that patient performance status is a key determinant in deciding which patients have access to angiogenesis inhibitors, and that there is a “one-out one-in system” in INCA (National Cancer Institute of Brazil) hospitals in which likely candidates must wait for another patient to stop therapy before being considered for treatment with an angiogenesis inhibitor. In Mexico, interviewed payers say the sporadic acquisition of these expensive drugs through charitable cancer organizations is similarly limited to select patients.

Decision Resources’ new Emerging Markets Physician & Payer Forum report, titled Payer and Clinician Perspectives on the Role of Premium-Priced Angiogenesis Inhibitors in Brazil and Mexico, also finds that - in line with interviewed payer insights - surveyed prescribers of Roche/Genentech/Chugai’s Avastin (bevacizumab), in Brazil and Mexico identify patients with good performance status as prime candidates for Avastin treatment, along with younger patients and those without co-morbidities. In the absence of biomarkers for response to Avastin, these attributes signify patients who are most likely to benefit from treatment.