According to a new analysis released by IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, global spending on cancer drugs and treatment reached $100 billion last year, up by 10.3 percent from 2013. Analysts said that the growth was driven largely by a rise in spending on targeted cancer therapies, which grew at a rate of 14 percent over the past five years.
The report stated that the US accounted for nearly 42 percent of all the drug spending in 2014. European countries increased their share of the global drug spend to nearly 15 percent in 2014 compared with 13.3 percent in 2010.
New therapies and breakthrough medications have helped increase the number of cancer survivors. An estimated two-thirds of cancer patients are living at least five years after they are diagnosed, compared with 50 percent in 1990.
"The increased prevalence of most cancers, earlier treatment initiation, new medicines and improved outcomes are all contributing to the greater demand for oncology therapeutics around the world," Mr Murray Aitken, executive director, IMS Institute, said in a statement. "Innovative therapeutic classes, combination therapies and the use of biomarkers will change the landscape over the next several years, holding out the promise of substantial improvements in survival with lower toxicity for cancer patients."
Report further elaborated that costs related to cancer treatments have increased 39 percent over the past 10 years. Demand for oncology services has been fueled by an influx of newly insured patients as a result of the Affordable Care Act, as well as a boom in the elderly population, which is projected to more than double by 2050.
