Worldwide spending on cancer medicines will exceed US$150 billion by 2020, driven by the emergence of expensive new therapies that help the immune system to attack tumours, according to a global oncology report released by IMS Health Holdings.

That represents an annual global growth rate for oncology drug spending of 7.5 percent to 10.5 percent through 2020, up from last year’s IMS forecast of six to eight percent growth through 2018.

The figures are based on the medicines’ list prices, which exclude discounts and rebates, and also include supportive care drugs to address side effects like nausea and anaemia, associated with many treatments, particularly chemotherapies.

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