WHO Considers Ways to Boost Access, Cut Prices for Cancer Drugs

In a wide-ranging analysis of ways to improve access to cancer drugs, the World Health Organization found the drugs remain costly even in countries with strict drug pricing regulations, price transparency is desirable but won’t really address high prices, and initiatives like value-based pricing may not be all that its advocates promise.

The WHO approaches the topic strictly from a public health perspective, noting that the profit-driven pricing model “often makes cancer medicines unaffordable, preventing the full benefit of the medicines from being realized.”

Instead, the WHO suggests other possible ways to enhance accessibility and affordability. These include short-term projects such as managed-entry agreements, and medium- to long-term efforts such as promoting competition through harmonizing regulatory requirements for biosimilars.