Posted by Michael Wonder on 18 Oct 2016
Time to reassess the cancer compendia for off-label drug coverage in oncology
18 October 2016 - Use of cancer therapies for indications not approved by the US FDA, also known as “off-label” use, is widely practiced in oncology care.
Examples include bevacizumab in metastatic oesophageal cancer or cetuximab in metastatic prostate cancer. In the United States, off-label use of 10 common cancer drugs accounted for nearly $5 billion in costs in 2010, an amount that likely substantially under-represents current off-label spending given the escalation in oncology drug pricing and number of available products, but recent comprehensive estimates have not been published.
