Cancer drugs: A 'billion-dollar ticket' to survival?

The prohibitive cost of cancer drugs in Vietnam places a crushing financial burden on patients, often forcing them to make impossible choices. For instance, one patient's wife spent nearly $1 billion Vietnamese dong (approximately $40,000 USD) over 12 months for a third-generation targeted therapy drug, Tagrisso, to treat her husband's late-stage lung cancer. Despite having health insurance, the medication was not covered, and the family depleted their life savings. The drug costs 84 million dong ($3,300 USD) per month. While pharmaceutical companies offer support programs like "buy one month, get two or three months free" after initial purchases, the initial outlay remains a significant barrier. This support structure can also create difficult choices for patients in critical stages, as seen when the patient passed away before finishing the first box of medication, despite the family's desperate attempt to prolong his life. The article highlights that the high prices stem from research and development costs, licensing procedures, and outdated health insurance coverage lists. Many targeted, immune, or biological therapies approved in Vietnam, from companies like AstraZeneca, Roche, and Pfizer, can cost between 40 million and 150 million dong ($1,600-$6,000 USD) per month. The complex process of developing and testing new drugs can take 10-15 years, contributing to their steep price tags.

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At that time, we didn't know if my husband's condition could hold on any longer. But we had to try everything, so the family still spent 84 million dong to buy the medicine in the hope of prolonging my husband's life. Ironically, before he could finish the first box, my husband passed away forever.