Medicare Boosts Drugs’ Coverage

Pfizer Inc., Genentech Inc. and ImClone Systems Inc. will receive broader Medicare reimbursements for use of their colon cancer drugs in clinical trials, the federal government announced Monday.

Medicare will expand coverage of Pfizer’s Camptosar, Genentech’s Avastin and ImClone’s Erbitux in clinical studies for uses that are not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Avastin and Erbitux are among the most expensive cancer drugs on the market. Both were introduced in the U.S. in February. Genentech and ImClone executives say insurers have limited reimbursement for their drugs mostly to colon cancer treatment.

ImClone’s Erbitux costs an average of $10,000 a month for each patient, and the price of Genentech’s Avastin is about $4,400 a month. ImClone and Pfizer are based in New York and Genentech is based in South San Francisco.

“We are moving aggressively to provide more up-to-date, higher-quality care for cancer patients on Medicare,” said Medicare chief Mark B. McClellan. “Seniors will have faster access to innovative cancer treatments that clearly work.”

The agency also will start a $300-million demonstration program designed for cancer doctors to measure the quality of patient care.