Medco report predicts cancer drugs to fuel specialty Rx spending

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. —Cancer drugs will become the biggest driver of specialty pharmacy spending, with global sales of the drugs expected to reach $80 billion by 2012, according to a new report by pharmacy benefit manager Medco Health Solutions.

“Targeted cancer therapies have dramatically reshaped oncology and greatly benefited cancer patients,” Medco chief medical officer Robert Epstein said in a statement. “The newer cancer drugs improve survival rates since they target what fuels the cancer’s growth.”

Spending on cancer drugs increased by 15.1% last year—behind autoimmune disorder and multiple sclerosis drugs—with an overall contribution to drug spending of 5% during the first half of this year. With 1.48 million Americans expected to be diagnosed with cancer this year, spending on the drugs likely will stay high, and according to the American Cancer Society, cancer patients are living longer today than a generation ago.

“As some may extend life, they may be used for longer periods of time and improve quality of life for millions of patients,” Epstein said. “Due to the higher costs of these treatments, however, proper selection and dosing is extremely important.”

Cancer drugs also represent a robust pipeline, with more than 800 under investigation. A database of cancer drugs in development maintained by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America lists a large number of drugs, pharmaceuticals and biologics in late-stage clinical trials.

Many of the cancer drugs that the Food and Drug Administration has approved in the last four years—often biotech drugs—have cost $20,000 for 12-week courses of therapy, while some have cost $10,000 a month, though the report said a regulatory approval pathway for biosimilars could help reduce the costs of biotech drug treatments.