Inside STAT: A different metric for pricing cancer drugs 

Cancer medicines are among the costliest drugs. These prices are often based on how much longer a given drug can keep half the patients in a clinical trial alive — a metric known as median survival gain — compared to those who didn’t receive the treatment. But when many drugs are measured that way, they often offer just a few more months of survival. And so a high price — often more than $100,000 for a single year of treatment — is seen by some as price gouging. But some of those who benefit from these drugs live for years longer. In a new First Opinion for STAT, two economists argue a different measure — mean survival gain — would be a better way to help price drugs. Read more here.