Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions
Oral Anticancer Spending in Part D Tied in Major Part to Price Increases
Key clinical point: Price increases are driving spending on anticancer drugs in Part D.
Major finding: Price increases accounted for 56% of increased spending from 2013 through 2017.
Study details: Researchers looked at data on 56 anticancer drugs that were on CareFirst’s 2017 list of oral anticancer drugs and were prescribed in Medicare Part D across all 5 years of the study period. Pricing and spending data were compared for each of the drugs across the 5 years of the study period.
Disclosures: The study was sponsored in part by the department of dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. Three of the five authors reported received fees from pharmaceutical manufacturers, and one reported serving as chair for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
Kira Seiger et al. JAMA Oncol. 2019 Nov 7. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2019.4906.