Chicago, IL—An economic analysis presented by Daniel Goldstein, MD, of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, was conducted to see at what price will necitum­umab (which is currently being reviewed by the FDA for use in metastatic squamous-cell lung cancer) be cost-­effective. According to this analysis, necitumumab will have to be priced at less than $1300 per cycle to be cost-­effective based on the accepted willing­ness-to-­pay threshold of $150,000.
Science and technology have taken us through a dynamic portal, transforming medicine into a business and cancer into an industry that is challenged by its clinical benefits, safety, and cost-effectiveness. We are now witnessing a change in oncology with the migration from doctor- to patient-centric treatment.
Chicago, IL—An analysis of chemotherapy infusion by Aetna shows that approximately 75% of their patients still receive chemotherapy in a community oncology setting, suggested Michael A. Kolodziej, MD, National Medical Director for Oncology Strategy, Aetna at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.
The increasing number of specialty drugs will drive pharmaceutical spending and exert greater pressure on the demonstration of the value of these drugs, said Douglas Long, Vice President of Industry Relations at IMS Health, at the Fifth Annual Conference of the Association for Value-­Based Cancer Care.
Although we all admire and support the efforts put forth by many experts to help quantify the “real” value of cancer medications, they still miss the mark in 2 dramatic ways.
How can cancer care decisions be based on value? Two champions are starting to add science to this controversial discussion, which will eventually help all stakeholders make more informed decisions. Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has published several articles regarding the high cost of new drugs, claiming that the manufacturers have total price control, which has led to irrational pricing behaviors. Dr Bach promotes a more rational, “value-based” approach, where the outcome determines the price.
Medicare’s Oncology Care Model (OCM) proposes a partial shift in financial risk from Medicare to oncologists. This incentivizes oncologists to use higher-­value, lower-cost services. Information such as the recently released American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) framework to assess new cancer treatment options will likely garner keen interest among providers participating in the OCM or similar programs, to the benefit of providers, payers, and patients.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) value framework essentially calls for accountability and transparency, which are qualities that are beneficial to providing complete care for patients and to improving positive patient outcomes.
The emergence of various tools for assessing value or, more to the point, drug costs—both direct and indirect—by leaders within the oncology and hematology community is highly commendable. Those of us on the managed care side of healthcare look forward to practical and meaningful tools in helping patients, pro­viders, employers, and health plans navigate through the complexity of oncology drug therapy and drive better informed decision-making.
  • Top US Oncologists Issue a Call to Lower Costs of Cancer Drugs, Assess Value
  • Inovio Launches Immunotherapy Trial in Prostate Cancer
  • European Regulatory Agency Grants Accelerated Review for 2 Multiple Myeloma Drugs
  • Partnership between Genomics and Big Data Companies Promotes Next-Generation Sequencing Innovation
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