Why Did Medicare Squander $600 Million on Efficacy-Free Cancer Drugs?

According to a new JAMA report, Medicare spent almost $600 million in three years on drugs used in oncology treatments. The cancer drugs were approved via the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Accelerated Approval Program, but did not demonstrate sufficient clinical efficacy.

“More than $170 million of this spending was for products voluntarily withdrawn by their manufacturers after clinical trials showed that they did not improve overall survival in people with various types of cancer, including breast and lung as well as liver and urinary tract cancers, the data showed.” Read more here.

(Source: Brian Dunleavy, UPI, 10/18/21)