Disparities in availability of new cancer drugs worldwide: 1990-2022
Introduction Despite progress in the development of new cancer drugs, concerns about equity of access remain. This study aimed to examine the availability and timeliness of availability of new cancer drugs around the globe over the past three decades and their associations with country characteristi...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2024-10-01
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| Series: | BMJ Global Health |
| Online Access: | https://gh.bmj.com/content/9/9/e015700.full |
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| author | Meng Li Qiushi Chen DukHee Ka |
| author_facet | Meng Li Qiushi Chen DukHee Ka |
| author_sort | Meng Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Despite progress in the development of new cancer drugs, concerns about equity of access remain. This study aimed to examine the availability and timeliness of availability of new cancer drugs around the globe over the past three decades and their associations with country characteristics.Methods From a pharmaceutical intelligence database we identified new cancer drugs launched between 1990 and 2022. We calculated the number of new drugs launched in each country and the delay in launches. Using a multivariable linear regression and a Cox regression model with shared frailty, we examined the associations of the country’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, cancer incidence, number of physicians per population, and Gini index with the number of new cancer drug launches and launch delay in a country, respectively.Results A total of 568 cancer drugs were launched for the first time globally between 1990 and 2022. Among these, 35% had been launched in only one country by 2022, 22% in 2–5 countries, 15% in 6–10 countries, and 28% in more than 10 countries. The number of new cancer drugs launched in a country in this period ranged from 0 to 345. The average delays from the first global launch to the second, third, fourth, and fifth launch were 18.0 months, 24.3 months, 32.5 months, and 39.4 months, respectively. Our multivariate models showed that higher GNI per capita and cancer incidence in a country were associated with more launches and shorter delays.Conclusion This research reveals significant disparities in the availability and timeliness of availability of new cancer drugs across countries. These disparities are likely to have contributed to the poor cancer outcomes observed in many countries. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ab9ee53b98fa41c380ac5f616469abbb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2059-7908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
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| series | BMJ Global Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-ab9ee53b98fa41c380ac5f616469abbb2024-12-28T11:05:09ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082024-10-019910.1136/bmjgh-2024-015700Disparities in availability of new cancer drugs worldwide: 1990-2022Meng Li0Qiushi Chen1DukHee Ka2NHC Key Laboratory of Research on Quality and Standardization of Biotech Products, NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Biological Products, State Key Laboratory of Drug Regulatory Science, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, ChinaThe Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USAThe Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USAIntroduction Despite progress in the development of new cancer drugs, concerns about equity of access remain. This study aimed to examine the availability and timeliness of availability of new cancer drugs around the globe over the past three decades and their associations with country characteristics.Methods From a pharmaceutical intelligence database we identified new cancer drugs launched between 1990 and 2022. We calculated the number of new drugs launched in each country and the delay in launches. Using a multivariable linear regression and a Cox regression model with shared frailty, we examined the associations of the country’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, cancer incidence, number of physicians per population, and Gini index with the number of new cancer drug launches and launch delay in a country, respectively.Results A total of 568 cancer drugs were launched for the first time globally between 1990 and 2022. Among these, 35% had been launched in only one country by 2022, 22% in 2–5 countries, 15% in 6–10 countries, and 28% in more than 10 countries. The number of new cancer drugs launched in a country in this period ranged from 0 to 345. The average delays from the first global launch to the second, third, fourth, and fifth launch were 18.0 months, 24.3 months, 32.5 months, and 39.4 months, respectively. Our multivariate models showed that higher GNI per capita and cancer incidence in a country were associated with more launches and shorter delays.Conclusion This research reveals significant disparities in the availability and timeliness of availability of new cancer drugs across countries. These disparities are likely to have contributed to the poor cancer outcomes observed in many countries.https://gh.bmj.com/content/9/9/e015700.full |
| spellingShingle | Meng Li Qiushi Chen DukHee Ka Disparities in availability of new cancer drugs worldwide: 1990-2022 BMJ Global Health |
| title | Disparities in availability of new cancer drugs worldwide: 1990-2022 |
| title_full | Disparities in availability of new cancer drugs worldwide: 1990-2022 |
| title_fullStr | Disparities in availability of new cancer drugs worldwide: 1990-2022 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disparities in availability of new cancer drugs worldwide: 1990-2022 |
| title_short | Disparities in availability of new cancer drugs worldwide: 1990-2022 |
| title_sort | disparities in availability of new cancer drugs worldwide 1990 2022 |
| url | https://gh.bmj.com/content/9/9/e015700.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mengli disparitiesinavailabilityofnewcancerdrugsworldwide19902022 AT qiushichen disparitiesinavailabilityofnewcancerdrugsworldwide19902022 AT dukheeka disparitiesinavailabilityofnewcancerdrugsworldwide19902022 |