Transcript Hwang- Cancer

The Cost of Living
Stephen Hall
Pharmaceutical Sales (Billions)
Projected Growth Rates
QALY
t=max
å
t=1
Fi qi
(1+ d)
t
F = Probability of being alive at age i
Q = Quality (0 = dead, 1 = perfect health)
D = Discount rate
Lung Cancer Chemotherapy
• Increases lifespan, on average, 2 months
• Treatment cost = $40,000
• Every additional year costs $360,000
Zaltrap
•
•
•
•
Fights colon cancer
Increases lifespan, on average, 42 days
Cost per year of life gained: $303,000
This only accounts for the drug itself, no other
expenses such as hospital, physician fees, etc
• Real price > $600,000
• Tremendous costs, low ROI
• 5 year survival rate for cancer is 63%
• Cancer drugs responsible for 2%
Why are costs so high?
• People would rather not die (duh)
• Oncologists derive half their income from
sales and administration of treatment
• New study states that the release of a new
drug costs $2.6 billion (This result has been
contested, values range from $500 million to
$5 billion)