Patient access to oncology drugs is faster in the United States compared with Europe, according to a new study reported in the July/August Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD) Impact Report.
The study also found new oncology drug approvals between 2000 and 2011 were greater by 33% in the United States compared with Europe.
Joshua P. Cohen, research assistant professor at Tufts CSDD who conducted the analysis, notes that, “while greater access to more treatment options is definitely a positive for patients in the US, it is not clear if greater access leads to better health outcomes.”
“Although more oncology drugs are available in the US, and the costs for a higher share of them are reimbursed, the evidence-based approach adopted by European systems have improved the affordability of drugs in Europe that are considered to be cost-effective,” Cohen said.
The study also found that:
- Between 2000 and 2011, 40 oncology drugs received market approval in the US compared with 30 in Europe
- Oncology drug prices in Europe, on average, are 9% lower than in the US
- Patient cost sharing is much lower in Europe than the US, where the average co-insurance rate per covered drug is 33%.