Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cancer Researchers Weigh Benefit Of Three-Drug Combinations With Resulting Higher Costs
The Wall Street Journal: Combination Drug Therapies For Cancer Show Promise At Higher Potential Cost
Cancer researchers see promise in giving patients combinations of multiple drugs that are proving more effective than one or two. But the strategy poses a dilemma for health insurers and patients: even higher prices. Researchers said at a medical meeting here Sunday that adding a third drug, Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex, to an older two-drug combination for patients with multiple myeloma significantly slowed the blood cancer’s growth compared with the older two-drug combination alone in a clinical trial. But the combined cost of the drugs—based on current list prices and the dosing schedule used in the study—would be at least $180,000 for the first full year of treatment for the average patient. (Loftus, 6/5)
Marketplace: Deals Aimed At Reining In Costs Of Cancer Drugs Show Promise
Cancer drug costs have gone up 72 percent over the last five years, to about $15.9 billion. It’s one sobering reality oncologists are facing at one of their big annual meetings this week in Chicago. (Gorenstein, 6/6)
