A new report states that global spending on cancer drugs reached $100 billion in 2014 after several expensive ground-breaking medications hit the market. Spending increased 10.3 percent from 2013 to 2014.
The IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics report published Tuesday stated that cancer drug spending stood at $75 million in the last five years. According the organization, therapies that target specific drivers of cancer are responsible for close to half of the yearly spending.
Cancer therapies are on the rise. Since 2010, 45 new therapies have appeared on the scene and 10 new cancer drugs came out in 2014 alone.
The new therapies have aided in increasing the lifespan of cancer patients. Nearly two-thirds of cancer patients are living at least five years longer after being diagnosed compared to 50 percent in 1990.
Executive director of the IMS institute, Murray Aitken, said in a statement that new medicines, early treatment initiation, improved outcomes and more are contributing to a “demand for oncology therapeutics around the world.” He added that the “innovative” therapies will change the landscape in the future and hold “out the promise of substantial improvements in survival.”
Two of the drugs that appeared in 2014, called immunotherapies, are believed to be a huge advance in the fight against cancer by scientists, according to Value Walk. The two immunotherapies are Opdivo, manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Keytruda, manufactured by Merck.
Both of the immunotherapies hold the monthly price of $12,500. Both have also demonstrated significant improvements over ordinary drugs.
Costs related to cancer treatments have increased nearly 40% over the previous 10 years. And because oncology practices have been consolidated into hospitals, patients are paying more out-of-pocket.
Modern Healthcare reported that the U.S. accounted for 42 percent of all drug spending last year. And Europe increased their share of spending from approximately 13.3 percent to almost 15 percent from 2010 to 2014.
Spending on cancer drugs is not expected to drop. The Affordable Care Act has fed demands for oncology services and has allowed a rush of newly insured patients. A large increase in the elderly population, which is predicted to double by 2050, has also contributed.
