Market uptake of new oncology drugs

Total sales of oncology drugs in the selected countries have increased substantially during the period 1995-2005 from is an element of 5 billion to >is an element of 23 billion. The United States has been the country of first launch for close to half of the oncology drugs brought to market in the last 11 years. Drugs introduced in the year 2000 and later account for -20% of total sales of oncology drugs. United States has the largest share of costs for drugs introduced 2003 or later; 17% compared with an average for all countries of 9%. There are great variations between the different countries in terms of the level of uptake of new drugs following introduction in the first country. Countries vary both in the time it takes to first sales and in the level of uptake when sales start. Imatinib is an identified exception to this rule. Austria, France, Switzerland and the United States are seen as leaders in the uptake of new cancer drugs. The uptake is low and slow for many drugs in New Zealand, Poland, Czech Republic, South Africa and the UK. The greatest differences in uptake were noted for the new colorectal and lung cancer drugs (bevacizumab, cetuximab, erlotinib and pemetrexed).