Gleevec Patent Expiry to bring financial benefits to patients
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New York: Patients suffering from chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)-- a rare form of cancer -- can get huge financial benefits if they start using the generic form of drug Gleevec, the patent of which expired in January this year, a study said.
"If we start all patients on the generic form of Gleevec and it works, then they are on a generic for the rest of their lives," said lead author William V. Padula, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University. "This amounts to a huge cost savings for them and their insurers," he added.
The study, published recently in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said if all CML patients were started upon diagnosis on the generic form of Gleevec, known as imatinib, the cost of treatment per patient over five years would be nearly $100,000 less than it is now.
While Gleevec was the first drug to successfully treat CML, two other drugs in the same category - dasatinib (sold as Sprycel) and nilotinib (sold as Tasinga) - have come on the market in recent years.
"If we start all patients on the generic form of Gleevec and it works, then they are on a generic for the rest of their lives," said lead author William V. Padula, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University. "This amounts to a huge cost savings for them and their insurers," he added.
The study, published recently in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said if all CML patients were started upon diagnosis on the generic form of Gleevec, known as imatinib, the cost of treatment per patient over five years would be nearly $100,000 less than it is now.
While Gleevec was the first drug to successfully treat CML, two other drugs in the same category - dasatinib (sold as Sprycel) and nilotinib (sold as Tasinga) - have come on the market in recent years.
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