Global spending on cancer drugs surges to $100bn

[Jesus Malverde]

Global annual spending on cancer drugs has hit $100bn for the first time as the pharmaceuticals industry prepares to launch a fresh generation of treatments that promise to push costs even higher.

The record 2014 figure marks a 10 per cent increase from a year earlier, largely because of rising drug prices and increased incidence of cancer.

The data, from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, a respected US research organisation, comes at a time of growing excitement among medics and investors over new cancer drugs heralded as the biggest step forward in oncology for decades.

Merck & Co, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche and AstraZeneca are among those developing so-called cancer immunotherapies that harness the body’s immune system to fight tumours.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/40d7c23c-f256-11e4-b914-00144feab7de.html

[Hoyt]

1. If we get results - better outcomes - the cost is hard to argue with. Yeah, I hate seeing

corporations making money off sickness. But I hate my loveones dying from cancer even more.

I'd rather government do the research, but we need another Congress for that.

[RobertEarl]

2. increased incidence of cancer.

Why is there an increased incidence of cancer?

And why haven't we done anything to stop the increased incidence of cancer.

[Initech]

4. Because.... profit.

[Initech]

3. There's more money to be made off a "cure" than having an actual cure.

Sometimes I wonder if anti-cancer charities are really just for show.