Health Economic Research Study Demonstrates Increased Use of New Medicines in the Treatment of Patients with Pancreatic Cancer Reduces Total Cost of Care

• The study shows that for every additional $1 spent on innovative medicines for pancreatic cancer between 2009 to 2016, there was a reduction in non-medicine spending of $8 to $9  
  
• This preliminary study reported that cost of procedures is markedly reduced when budgets are funded towards better pharmacotherapy
• Non-drug spending represented the majority of patient care costs
• More effective, better tolerated oral therapies for pancreatic cancer may lead to further reduction of burden on the healthcare system

NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tyme Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: TYME), an emerging biotechnology company developing cancer metabolism based therapies (CMBTs), announced the results of a health economic outcomes study demonstrating that the therapeutic benefit of increasing the use of  novel medicines is so great that it is driving a decrease in the actual total cost of healthcare. The supporting data from the study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO GI) held on January 23 to 25, 2020 in San Francisco, California.

Health technology assessment programs are increasingly using real-world patient data to assess the effect of new medicines on total cost of care. This study analyzed such data to measure the impact of new pancreatic cancer therapies on other non-therapeutic medical expenditures.

“There is a great need to develop new treatments for pancreatic cancer that balance both efficacy and safety,” said Vincent J. Picozzi, M.D., Director of the Pancreaticobilliary Program at the Floyd & Delores Jones Cancer Institute at the Virginia Mason Medical Center. “The value of advancing treatments is apparent from our total cost of care analysis looking at both medical and pharmacotherapy costs. Our study looked at treatment inflation-adjusted expenses per patient for pancreatic cancer care between 2009 and 2016 and found that for every additional $1 spent on drugs for pancreatic cancer, there was a reduction in non-drug spending of $9.” 

The study showed that between 2009 and 2016, average inflation-adjusted per patient spending on pancreatic cancer care declined from $37,000 to $10,000. Prescription drug spending increased during the same time period from $2,400 to $5,300 per person (inflation adjusted). In effect, for every additional dollar spent on therapies for pancreatic cancer between 2009 to 2016, there was a reduction in non-drug spending of $9.00.