Our studies aim to improve access, affordability and sustainability (value) of cancer therapies.

We have made striking progress in the treatment of cancer. In 2016 alone, there were 21 FDA-drug approvals related to cancer, with 5 being new molecular entities. The American Association for Cancer Research estimates that there are more than 836 vaccines and medications for targeting cancer currently being tested in clinical trials, or awaiting FDA approval. At the same time, the average price of newly approved cancer drugs to consumers has increased to more than $120,000 annually. Much of these costs have been transferred to patients, who are then forced to make the tough choice between their treatments or other necessities.

 

We are at an important inflection point: how do we balance the costs of innovation with access to novel drugs, affordability and sustainability?

 

Our Mission

The Value in Cancer Care Consortium (vi3c) is non-profit entity incorporated as a 501c(3) tax-exempt public charity with the mission of improving the value of existing treatments to cancer patients and society through rigorous science. 
Our studies aim to improve access, affordability and sustainability (value) of a cancer therapy by:

● Optimizing the delivery of existing drugs (decreasing frequency, reducing the dosage, enhancing drug absorption)
● Generating evidence supporting the substitution of high-priced drugs for existing mechanistically similar and less costly drugs
● Comparing approved regimens, where the intervention regimen is safer or less costly with similar efficacy

The Evidence

  • 836 vaccines and drugs in clinical trials
  • $150 billion global market for oncology by 2020
  • Lack of Value-Based Research

The Value

  • Optimize delivery
  • Evidence for less mechanistically similar and less costly drugs
  • Compare regimens including a safer or less costly option with similar efficacy
“...what counts as a benefit in cancer treatment and how much cost should factor into deliberations are not ethical problems that can be relegated to others. No segment of society is better qualified to address these issues than the oncology community. It is time to confront these issues, lest other confront them for us.”
— Fojo, T; Grady C. Commentary, JNCI 2009: 101(15)