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. 2022 Jan 4;5(1):e2144923.
doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.44923.

Trends in Prices of Drugs Used to Treat Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in the US From 2015 to 2020

Aakash Desai  1 , Caleb Scheckel  1 , Chelsee J Jensen  2 , Jacob Orme  1 , Colt Williams  1 , Nilay Shah  2 , Konstantinos Leventakos  1 , Alex A Adjei  1
Affiliations

Trends in Prices of Drugs Used to Treat Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in the US From 2015 to 2020

Aakash Desai et al. JAMA Netw Open. .

Abstract

Importance: Oncology drug prices are a determinant of health disparities in the US and worldwide. Several new therapeutic agents for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have become available on the US market over the past decade. Although increased competition typically produces lower prices, competition among brand-name oncology drugs has not resulted in lower prices.

Objective: To assess price changes in class-specific brand-name medications used to treat metastatic NSCLC in the US from 2015 to 2020.

Design, setting, and participants: This cross-sectional study, conducted from August 13, 2015, to August 13, 2020, used data from the Micromedex Red Book and Medi-Span Price Rx databases. The study sample was limited to 17 brand-name medications used to treat metastatic NSCLC that were available for purchase before January 1, 2019.

Main outcomes and measures: The main outcomes were trends over time in average wholesale prices and wholesale acquisition cost unit prices and the correlation in price among the multiple brand-name medications within each therapeutic class (immune checkpoint inhibitors, epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors, anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors, ROS1 inhibitors, BRAF inhibitors, and MEK inhibitors), measured using the Pearson correlation coefficient. The compounded annual growth rates of different medication costs were compared with the annual inflation rate and the consumer price index for prescription drugs.

Results: For all drug classes, the Pearson correlation coefficient approached 1.0, indicating an increase in drug list prices despite within-class drug competition. The median Pearson correlation coefficient values were 0.964 (range, 0.951-0.994) for immune checkpoint inhibitors, 0.898 (range, 0.665-0.950) for epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors, 0.999 (range, 0.982-0.999) for anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors, and 0.999 for BRAF and MEK inhibitors. The median compounded annual growth rates for most drug costs were higher than the annual inflation rate and consumer price index for prescription drugs: 1.81% (range, 1.29%-2.13%) for immune checkpoint inhibitors, 2.56% (range, 2.38%-5.26%) for epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors, 2.46% (range, 1.75%-4.66%) for anaplastic lymphoma kinase and ROS1 inhibitors, and 3.06% (range, 0%-3.06%) for BRAF and MEK inhibitors.

Conclusions and relevance: In this cross-sectional study, prices of brand-name medications for treatment of NSCLC increased in the US from 2015 to 2020 without evidence of price competition, raising concern about the affordability of promising oncology drugs. These findings suggest that drug pricing reform is needed.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Leventakos reported receiving honoraria to the institution for general consulting from AstraZeneca, OncLive, Targeted Oncology, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Mirati Therapeutics, and Janssen; receiving honoraria to the institution for serving on the advisory board for Takeda; and receiving research grants to the institution from AstraZeneca and Mirati Therapeutics outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Trends in Prices of Drugs for Metastatic Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer in the US Between 2015 and 2020
ALK indicates anaplastic lymphoma kinase; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Pearson Correlation Coefficients Among Brand-Name Medications Within the Same Drug Class for Metastatic Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer in the US From 2015 to 2020
ALK indicates anaplastic lymphoma kinase; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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