Poland's independence from imported cancer drugs could protect citizens from unexpected interruptions in treatment. Work on generic drugs also offers hope that the treatment of serious diseases such as non-small cell lung cancer will become significantly more affordable. Such a drug is being synthesised by the Pharmaceutical Institute in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Polfa Production S.A.
Lung cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis in men worldwide and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The number of cases of malignant lung tumours in Poland in 2010 was almost 21,000, of which almost 15,000 were in men and over 6,000 in women. The risk of developing lung cancer is about three times higher in men than in women. Most cases of malignant lung tumours occur after the age of 50, with about half of patients being 65 years old. Poles develop the disease more frequently than the European Union average.
"We are working on a drug for non-small cell lung cancer. It will be the Polish equivalent of a drug containing erlotinib, an active ingredient from the group of protein kinase inhibitors, which is also used in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and sometimes in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer,"," says RafaÅ Bednarczyk, CEO of Polfa. As he explains, the dosage of cancer drugs depends on the patient's body weight. For this drug, the average dose is 150 mg per day. One pack contains 30 tablets, each containing 25 mg of the active ingredient. One pack lasts for 5 days, costs PLN 2,000 and is reimbursed to patients. When the patent for the original drug expires and a generic drug can be launched on the market, the price usually drops by 30 to 40 per cent. The price is also determined by the rules of the market between companies that develop their own generic drugs. Only a few cancer drugs are manufactured in Poland. The vast majority are imported into Poland, which is why the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) has decided to fund work on a Polish equivalent of the drug for the treatment of lung cancer. In the past, there have been shortages of cancer drugs for Polish patients because companies preferred to place their products on markets where they could achieve a higher price. Parallel imports also take away some of these drugs because they are cheap. Producing our own cancer drugs in Poland protects citizens much better," says Bednarczyk. Source: PAP
Author: POLISH MEDICINE FOR LUNG CANCER 02.06.2015
