STAT+: Most cancer drugs approved by European regulators lack a high clinical benefit, analysis finds

Ed’s stories explore prescription drug pricing, affordability and access, as well issues surrounding patents, litigation, and legislation. He is also the author of the morning Pharmalittle newsletter and the afternoon Pharmalot newsletter.Most new cancer medicines approved by European regulators over a recent four-year period do not offer high clinical benefit and those that do were generated by a small number of drugmakers, mostly based in Asia, according to a new analysis. Just 31% of 97 approved indications for 63 different cancer treatments offered a high clinical benefit and only nine of those medications received the top grade based on measurement tools used by the European Society for Medical Oncology. And of the 63 cancer drugs, just 19 were deemed to have at least one high-benefit indication. Meanwhile, five drugmakers accounted for more than half of all 30 high-benefit indications for medicines approved by European regulators from January 2022 through July 2026. And four of those five companies are based in either China or Japan, which the researchers suggested is a “fundamental shift in the innovation ecosystem” over the past decade. STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and news alerts. Already have an account? Log in View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+. Subscribe