When competition is not enough: leveraging US policies to curb oral anticancer drug costs.

Abstract

In The Lancet Oncology, Kerstin N Vokinger and colleagues 1 Vokinger KN Hwang TJ Carl DL et al. Price changes and within-class competition of cancer drugs in the USA and Europe: a comparative analysis. Lancet Oncol. 2022; 23: 514-520 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar examined trends in prices for drugs used to treat solid tumours when drugs for the same indication within the same class were approved in the USA and in two European countries (Germany and Switzerland). The authors found that drug prices in Germany and Switzerland generally decreased or remained on parity with inflation, but US drug prices steadily increased despite within-class drug competition. The gridlock in the US Congress has made it challenging to pass legislative changes required for European-like drug price negotiations in the USA; however, it is important to deliberate whether current Medicare formulary policies could be further leveraged to address rising prices for drugs for which within-class competition should exist.