Drug Costs in Federally Sponsored Cancer Clinical Trials

What are the total drug acquisition costs in federally sponsored cancer clinical trials if all experimental agents were purchased directly, and how do these costs vary by trial phase, therapeutic class, and sponsor type? In this systematic review of 1378 US federally sponsored cancer clinical trials from 2017 to 2023, the estimated median trial-level drug costs were $7.6 million, with higher costs for phase 3 trials ($56.3 million) and trials involving immunotherapy ($9.3 million), targeted therapy ($6.6 million), or their combination ($15.1 million) compared with chemotherapy. Experimental agents accounted for approximately 80% of total drug costs, and per-patient costs were higher in trials solely funded by federal agencies compared with cosponsored trials. These findings underscore the significant financial burden of trial conduct and the need for policy innovations to reduce costs and better support clinically relevant federally funded research.

Corresponding Authors: Hong Xiao, PhD (hxiao2@fredhutch.org), and Joseph M. Unger, PhD, MS (junger@fredhutch.org), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, Mail Stop M3-C102, Seattle, WA 98109-1024.

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.