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There was a median of 10 years (range, 1-28 years) of sales data.
•
Compared with the total risk-adjusted R&D cost of $794 million (range, $2827-$219 million) per
medicine estimated in the literature, by the end of 2017, the median cumulative sales income
was $14.50 (range, $3.30-$55.10) per dollar invested for R&D.
•
Median time to fully recover the maximum possible risk-adjusted cost of R&D ($2827 million) was
5 years (range, 2-10 years; n = 56).
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Cancer drugs continued to generate billion-dollar returns for the originator companies after the
end-of-market exclusivity, particularly for biologics.
•
Cancer drugs, through high prices, have generated returns for the originator companies far in
excess of possible R&D costs.
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Lowering prices of cancer drugs and facilitating greater competition are essential for improving
patient access, health system’s financial sustainability, and future innovation.