Earlier this week, the FDA approved a new medication to be used with Letrozole (Femara) or other aromatase inhibitors for hormone positive metastatic breast cancer patients. This medication (which I can't pronounce and just think of it as the 'kis...') is called Kisqali (chemical name: ribociclib). It works similar to Ibrance... Not that that means much to me but as a reference.
My real concern is the cost. Ibrance costs $9850/month for treatment. Not cheap. All new cancer treatments seem to cost so much.
But I am pleased to learn that Novartis has developed a flexible pricing plan for Kisqali;
"The med—a first-line treatment for HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that will compete with Pfizer’s Ibrance—will roll out as early as Tuesday under a flexible pricing structure, the company said on a conference call following Monday's FDA approval. A 28-day supply of the 600-mg dose will cost $10,950, while the same supply of the 400-mg dose will go for $8,760 and the 200-mg dose will run at $4,380."
My hope is that now there will be some price competition between the two. Not that many stage IV cancer patients do much price shopping while looking for treatment but maybe the insurance companies will.
However, the best thing is that more cancer drugs are being developed and are finally hitting the market.
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