BY KATE GIBSON JUNE 19, 2021 / 7:18 AM / MONEYWATCH
Brain-tumor
experts and patient advocates are among those decrying a decision by the seller
of a cancer drug to exit a federal discount program for Medicare patients,
leaving some unable to afford a treatment that can run as much as $1,000 a
capsule.
The move by
Miami-based NextSource Biotechnology means the drug Gleostine no longer
qualifies for Medicare Part D drug assistance, meaning there is one fewer
option of a handful of approved chemotherapies.
"There
are lots of people right now who are not getting the drug," and some will
likely die as a result, Henry S. Friedman, a neuro-oncologist and professor of
neurosurgery at Duke University School of Medicine, told CBS MoneyWatch.
"There are patients who can't afford the drug, and other drugs may not be
as effective."
The Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, confirmed NextSource had
withdrawn from the Medicaid drug rebate program, meaning states cannot receive
federal funding reimbursement for Gleostine. However, states can still pay for
the drug with their own funds, with each state's Medicaid program making those
coverage decisions.
Used to
treat a tumor known as glioblastoma and other brain cancers, Gleostine's patent
has lapsed but there is no generic version.
"The
decision by the company to withdraw from public health insurance programs
weakens the safety net for vulnerable brain cancer patients who already have
few treatment options. Lomustine, (brand name: Gleostine ) is a
medically-necessary part of the standard of care for patients with the most
aggressive tumors and is also essential in many clinical trials," stated
David Arons, CEO of the National Brain Tumor Society.
"We
urge Nextsource to rejoin these programs and help reduce barriers for patients
who require access to this therapy as well as for researchers and clinical
trial participants participating in critical, ongoing brain cancer
studies," Arons continued.
The company
had previously jacked up the price of Gleostine, an off-patent drug formerly
known as lomustine that first came out more than four decades ago to treat
brain tumors and Hodgkin lymphoma. It was marketed under the brand name CeeNu
by Bristol-Myers Squibb, or BMS, which sold the product to NextSource in 2013.
"Lomustine
is one of only three FDA-approved chemotherapies for patients with glioblastoma
and the one that most patients receive when their tumor progresses on first
line temozolomide chemotherapy. The median age for patients with glioblastoma
is 65, meaning the decision to no longer participate in the Medicare program
affects half of the glioblastoma population," Dr. Patrick Wen, director of
the Center for Neuro-Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston,
said in emailed comments.
"The
only other treatment is avastin. Lomustine is also the standard-of-care
treatment used in the control arm of most recurrent glioblastoma clinical
trials, and not having easy access to this drug has an important impact on
research to find better treatments for this devastating cancer," the physician
added.
"It
cost $50 per capsule since BMS sold it," David Vanness, a professor of
health policy and administration at Pennsylvania State University, tweeted on
Thursday. "This is a drug from 1976."
These days,
a capsule can run as much as a grand a pop, after multiple price increases by
NextSource.
NextSource
did not respond to a request for comment from CBS MoneyWatch. It told the Wall
Street Journal, which first reported it had
pulled out of the Medicare Part D program, that it was reviewing its
participation in various programs.
However,
NextSource posted a statement
on its website about its price increases, citing product development costs,
regulatory agency fees and the benefit the treatment offers to patients as
among the underlying factors.
Friedman,
however, dismissed the explanation. "It's all greed. Why do you take a
drug for which you do no research and development and raise the price 1,400%?
All they did was rebrand it, a drug that was out there forever," Friedman
said.
Other
companies including Turing Pharmaceuticals and Valeant Pharmaceuticals have
significantly raised prices after buying drugs that had been on the market for
years.
First
published on June 17, 2021 / 4:54 PM
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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brain-cancer-drug-gleostine-no-longer-an-option-under-medicare/
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