Assertio Therapeutics, INC (ASRT)

[dcaf7]

Rolvedon vs biosimilars cost.
The final 2 articles highlighted in this issue of the Medical Letter address the question of cost. The first notes the recent approval of the new bone marrow stimulatory agent eflapegrastim-xnst (Rolvedon) for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia. The agent was FDA approved based on the results of 2 randomized trials in which it demonstrated noninferiority in one trial and possible superiority in the other trial vs pegfilgrastim (Neulasta).

Although there should always be interest in discovering novel, increasingly effective, less toxic approaches to supportive care measures in cancer management, the question here is the value of such agents vs less expensive biosimilar agents employed for this purpose. One dose of eflapegrastim is said to cost $4500 compared with pegfilgrastim biosimilar costing approximately $2500. This sum is not insignificant considering the common use of bone marrow stimulatory agents by oncology practices and health care systems, as well as the financial impact on third-party payers or as increasingly mandated insurance co-pay for individual patients.
https://www.onclive.com/view/unresolved-issues-in-antineoplastic-drug-therapy-is-it-finally-time-to-address-