Health spending on cancer drugs and unmet patient needs in Asia-Pacific

Den fjärde delrapporten i en rapportserie om cancer och cancerläkemedel i Asien och Stillahavsområdet beskriver hur mycket som spenderas på cancerläkemedel.

It describes health spending on cancer drugs and unmet patient needs in 14 countries and locations (called “markets” in the report) in Asia-Pacific. They are grouped into 7 high-income markets (Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan) and 7 middle-income markets (China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam).

The sub-report provides a comparative analysis of the 14 markets. The main findings are:

1. High-income markets spent around 10-20% of total pharmaceutical expenditure – financed via public and private sources – on cancer drugs in 2019, whereas middle-income markets spent around 1-9%.

2. Japan spent the most on cancer drugs per capita with over $90 in 2019, and South Korea spent the least among high-income markets with around $30 per capita. In middle-income markets, per capita spending levels ranged from a mere $0.2 in India to $6.6 in Thailand.

3. Higher use of innovative drugs with much better patient accessibility via reimbursement also contributes to the differences explain some of the vast differences across Asia-Pacific. Higher list prices of drugs and higher numbers of cancer patients in high-income markets are further explanations for the differences.

4. Despite securing national reimbursement, patient access to the specific treatment might not necessarily be guaranteed. Australia and Japan are only able to meet half of the patient needs in non-small cell lung cancer after reimbursement of immuno-chemotherapy. In middle-income markets with no reimbursement, less than 10% of patient needs are met.

Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) har bidragit med finansiering av denna rapport. Det är författarna ensamma som svarar för analys, tolkningar och rapportens innehåll.

Alla rapporterna i denna serie finns under IHE Report 2021:3 (main report)

För frågor om studien kontakta Thomas Hofmarcher

IHE Report 2021:3f, IHE: Lund, Sweden