Hello, $200B: Super-pricey new cancer drugs drive mega increases in treatment spending

It wasn't all that long ago that a six-figure price on a debut cancer drug was big news. Now, it would be more surprising if an oncology launch didn't carry a price tag of $100,000 or more—and the high cost of those new rollouts is helping drive cancer treatment costs toward $100 billion annually in the U.S. alone. According to a new IQVIA report, U.S. cancer drug spending climbed to almost $50 billion last year, about twice the $24.8 billion spent in 2012. Along the way, median U.S prices for new therapies climbed above $160,000 last year, more than double the median $79,000 launch price in 2013. New checkpoint inhibitors such as Merck & Co.'s Keytruda and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo drove a large portion of the spending growth over the past few years, but so did price hikes on older drugs—and though new generics helped, their cheaper prices couldn't offset the growth in pricey drugs. Volume numbers increased, too, as more patients were treated.