Spotlight on New Oncology Drugs: Access, Costs, and Use

The oncology drug clinical pipeline has expanded by more than 60% in the past decade, and almost 90% of the focus is on targeted agents. More than 500 diverse companies across the globe are actively pursuing oncology drug development for over 600 indications, mainly for non–small-cell lung cancer, breast, prostate, ovarian, and colorectal cancers. In the United States, initiatives including Breakthrough Therapy designation, introduced in 2012, may have contributed to the shortened time to approval seen in recent years; indeed, between 2013 and 2015, the median time to approval of new oncology drugs by the US Food and Drug Administration was reduced by about 8 months (from 10.25 years to 9.5 years). However, the complexity and duration of the drug regulatory process vary widely from country to country, and the availability of a particular drug depends on where the manufacturer files for registration. Of 49 new active substances launched in oncology from 2010 through 2014, only 6 countries (the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Canada) have more than half of these agents available, and even less are reimbursed under public insurance programs. Emerging trends include growth in the availability and use of targeted therapies, particularly oral ones. These and other compelling analyses of the global oncology market- highlighting 5-year trends and projected changes in oncology drug access, costs, and use-are discussed in the June 2016 “Global Oncology Trend Report: A Review of 2015 and Outlook to 2020.” The report is available from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, a global health and technology information services company. This slide show presents some highlights of the report, with a focus on the deepened and broadened use of targeted therapy in oncology.