European payers question value of new cancer drugs
August 6th, 2008
Cancer is the fastest-growing section of the drugs market but developing new treatments is only half the battle. Persuading payers to use them, particularly in Europe, is another matter.
Recent multi-billion dollar bids for Genentech and ImClone by Roche and Bristol-Myers Squibb highlight Big Pharma’s desire to secure revenues from modern cancer blockbusters like Avastin and Erbitux.
Yet use of both these medicines remains controversial in key European markets, where state-backed healthcare systems are struggling with the escalating cost of cancer treatments.