New Cancer drug cocktails testing limits of Cancer Drug pricing

New cancer drug cocktails set to reach the market in the next few years will test the limits of premium pricing for life-saving medicines, forcing company executives to consider fresh market strategies.
The growing reluctance of governments and private insurers to fund very expensive drugs, even remarkably effective ones, points to a showdown as manufacturers mix and match therapies that harness the immune system to fight tumors.Several companies acknowledge discounts will be needed when drugs costing more than $100,000 each are combined. That could give firms with multiple products in-house an edge over those having to negotiate pricing arrangements with partners.
Dozens of new cancer combinations will be launched over the next few years, with ones for lung cancer, melanoma and other solid tumors taking off strongly after 2018, drug company pipelines suggest.
Pricey immunotherapies, offering long-lasting responses, are already starting to change practice, as doctors use so-called checkpoint inhibitors like Merck's Keytruda and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo in melanoma and lung cancer.