US patients pay most but cancer meds less affordable in low-income countries; study

7 June 2016

A pilot study has shown the huge differences in retail prices of cancer drugs in different countries, and highlighted the burden the cost puts on patients in many parts of the world.

The study, presented at the 2016 American Society of Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, looked at the median retail prices for 23 cancer drugs in seven different countries, with the highest identified in the USA and the lowest in India and South Africa.

Once the monthly drug price is expressed as a percentage of domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity (GDPcapPPP), however, cancer drugs appear to be less affordable in low-income countries, despite the lower retail prices.

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