Analysis of dilemmas and recommendations for value assessment of antitumor combination therapies
- VernacularTitle:抗肿瘤联合疗法价值评估的困境分析及建议
- Author:
Xuerong WANG
1
;
Ting ZHOU
1
;
Yan LI
1
;
Hongchao LI
2
Author Information
1. School of International Pharmaceutical Business，China Pharmaceutical University，Nanjing 211198，China;Research Center for Pharmacoeconomics Evaluation，China Pharmaceutical University，Nanjing 211198，China
2. School of International Pharmaceutical Business，China Pharmaceutical University，Nanjing 211198，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
antitumor therapy;
combination therapy;
value assessment;
cost;
free but uneconomical;
pharmacoeconomics
- From:
China Pharmacy
2026;37(11):1447-1451
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To systematically identify the dilemmas in value assessment of antitumor combination therapies， and to provide evidence for health insurance coverage， drug pricing， and clinical decision-making. METHODS The concept of “surplus value space” was introduced to cons truct a value assessment framework， under which the dilemmas in three assessment scenarios were analyzed. Optimization recommendations were proposed by drawing on international research addressing similar challenges. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS The core dilemma of value assessment for antitumor combination therapies lies in insufficient surplus value space. When the cost of the backbone therapy exceeds its corresponding health value， the add-on drug encounters a “free but uneconomical”problem. Existing international value assessment methods have limitations such as flawed evaluation frameworks， difficulty in operationalizing the quality-adjusted life year allocation framework， and frequent occurrence of the “free but uneconomical”problem， rendering them inadequate for the complex scenarios of antitumor combination therapies. To address these dilemmas， strategies such as adjusting payment thresholds， exploring discounted pricing， conducting multi-product linkage negotiations， and delaying insurance access are recommended to improve the rationality and feasibility of value assessment for antitumor combination therapies.
