NuView Life Sciences Calls for Solutions as Cancer Drug Costs Escalate
Park City, UT (PRWEB) April 03, 2017 -- Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States,(1) and more often than ever before, patients are feeling the financial burden of obtaining potentially life-saving cancer drugs. Newer cancer medications can cost patients over $100,000 each year,(2) and it’s not uncommon for patients to spend an average of $8,700 each month on the medications they need to fight the disease.(3) Drug costs are skyrocketing as many insurance companies raise deductibles and copayments,(2,5) forcing many patients to pay more out-of-pocket for the medications that could save their lives. In response, companies such as NuView Life Sciences are calling for drug cost solutions that give patients a more affordable way to receive the treatment they need.
Only 50 years ago, it was common for new anticancer drugs to cost an average of $100 each month, but now many patients regularly pay close to $10,000 every month.(4) Many patients—especially those under age 65 with no access to Medicare or high-deductible insurance plans—simply cannot afford these drugs.(2) Due to financial concerns, 32% of individuals recently diagnosed with cancer and 28% of individuals with a past history of cancer ask their doctors for lower-cost medications.(2)
Unfortunately for some patients, some lower-cost cancer medications simply slow the progression of cancer rather than providing effective, disease-halting treatment. Lower-cost drugs, such as those that are off-brand or generic, can also come with a range of possible side effects the patient might experience, from no effect at all to death.(2)
Paul Crowe, CEO of NuView Life Sciences, said, “We’re experiencing a healthcare crisis in which patients are diagnosed with a potentially deadly disease and offered a treatment option, only to find out they can’t afford the treatment. This financial stress can be extremely demoralizing at a time when it’s crucial that the patient is in the right state of mind to fight the disease. These patients need solutions when it comes to paying for the medications that could save their lives.”
Companies like NuView are at the forefront of the movement to find better, more cost-effective solutions that enable patients to achieve the best possible outcomes from treatment. In the future, NuView hopes its NV-VPAC1 technology platform could be used to deliver targeted, highly-effective anticancer drugs directly to cancer cells.
There is also some push to take the production of anticancer medications out of the hands of the pharmaceutical industry. In attempts to curb the rising costs of these drugs, some hospitals are beginning to purchase cancer medications collectively.(6) Additionally, physicians and other professionals are calling for a review of the way many cancer drugs are packaged. Some cancer drugs come in vials that contain more medication than the patient actually needs. Even though leftover medication must often be discarded for safety reasons, the prices of these drugs have not fallen to reflect the amount of medication wasted. It’s estimated that up to $2.8 billion is wasted every year simply because of the way cancer drugs are packaged.(7)
Crowe said, “If we can find different ways to provide patients with much-needed anticancer drugs that are more affordable and ensure the patient receives proper care, we would be doing patients across the world a disservice by choosing not to explore those options. Companies and drug manufacturers must take the initiative to find ways to lower the cost of these medications while giving patients the life-saving treatments they need.”
About NuView Life Sciences:
Founded in 2005, NuView Life Sciences is a biotechnology company located in Park City, Utah, working to improve the way cancer is diagnosed and treated in our modern healthcare system. NuView is focused on creating precision cancer diagnostics and therapeutics to improve patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs through the development and clinical application of its exclusive peptide analog technology, NV-VPAC1. Led by a team of industry experts with decades of combined experience in healthcare and medical imaging technologies, NuView is poised to change how we look for and respond to cancer. To learn more about NuView Life Sciences, please visit http://nuviewinfo.com/site/3/.
Sources:
1. Cancer. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/cancer.htm
2. “Many US cancer patients struggle to afford life-saving medications”. Fox News Health. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2017/02/23/many-us-cancer-patients-struggle-to-afford-life-saving-medications.html
3. “Price of cancer drugs vastly higher in US, according to study”. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/851cd240-2b6f-11e6-bf8d-26294ad519fc
4. “Will the cost of cancer drugs break the economy?”. Modern Healthcare. http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20170314/NEWS/170319977
5. “Price of Cancer Drugs Has Skyrocketed Since 2000”. Healthline. http://www.healthline.com/health-news/price-of-cancer-drugs-hasskyrocketed#1
6. “Hospitals to buy cancer drugs collectively to drive costs down”. DutchNews.nl. http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/02/hospitals-to-buy-cancer-drugs-collectively-to-drive-costs-down/
7. “In the trash: Wasted cancer drugs cost nearly $3 billion each year”. STAT. https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2016/03/01/cancer-drugs-wasted/
Karla Jo Helms, JoTo PR, +1 (888) 202-4614 Ext: 802, [email protected]
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