全球癌症藥品年度開支創紀錄大綱

Global annual spending on cancer drugs has hit $100bn for the first time as the pharmaceuticals industry prepares to launch a fresh generation of treatments that promise to push costs even higher.

全球用於癌症藥物的年度開支首次達到1000億美元大關。與此同時，製藥產業正準備推出新一代癌症治療方案，這些治療方案勢必進一步推升治療成本。

The record 2014 figure marks a 10 per cent increase from a year earlier, largely because of rising drug prices and increased incidence of cancer.

比起前一年，2014年這一創紀錄的開支增長了10%。在很大程度上，這一增幅是藥品價格攀升及癌症發病率增加導致的。

The data, from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, a respected US research organisation, comes at a time of growing excitement among medics and investors over new cancer drugs heralded as the biggest step forward in oncology for decades.

該數據由著名的美國研究機構艾美仕醫療保健信息研究所(IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics)發佈。就在艾美仕發佈這一數據之際，越來越多的醫生及投資者正在爲新的癌症藥物歡欣鼓舞。這批新的藥物被譽爲腫瘤醫學界數十年來的最大進展。

Merck & Co, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche and AstraZeneca are among those developing so-called cancer immunotherapies that harness the body’s immune system to fight tumours.

在開發這種所謂癌症免疫療法的公司中，默克集團(Merck & Co)、百時美施貴寶(Bristol-Myers Squibb)、羅氏(Roche)及阿斯利康(AstraZeneca)赫然在列。這種免疫療法的原理，是利用機體的免疫力對抗癌細胞。

The earliest of these have been launched in the US in recent months at prices amounting to about $150,000 a year — generating fresh optimism around the pharmaceuticals industry after a decade of sluggish growth.

這種治療方法最早於最近幾個月在美國推出，其價格總計爲一年約15萬美元。對於經歷了十年增長乏力的製藥業來說，這一天價方案催生了新的樂觀情緒。

However, the expected surge of expensive new cancer drugs has raised questions over their affordability for healthcare systems already struggling with the rising cost of caring for an ageing world population.

然而，昂貴的癌症新藥如期涌現，也引發了大量質疑：面對全球人口老齡化而導致的成本上升，已經不堪重負的醫療系統還能否負擔起這些新藥。

“Earlier diagnosis, longer treatment duration and increased effectiveness of drug therapies are contributing to rising levels of spending on medicines for cancer,” said the IMS report.

艾美仕報告表示：“診斷時間提前、治療時期延長、以及藥物治療有效性增加，都在助推癌症藥物開支的增加。”

The compound annual growth rate in cancer drug spending increased to 6.5 per cent over the past five years and this was forecast by IMS to rise further to 6-8 per cent between now and 2018 as new treatments arrive.

過去五年裏，癌症藥物開支的複合年增長率增至6.5%。據艾美仕預測，隨着新治療方案的問世，從現在起到2018年期間，這一增長率將進一步增加，且有望增加到8%。

“New therapeutic classes and combination therapies will change the cancer landscape over the next several years,” the report said.

該報告稱：“今後幾年，新的治療門類及組合治療方案將改變癌症治療領域的格局。”