How Much Does It Really Cost to Develop a Cancer Drug?

Cancer drugs can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and increasing complexity suggests that prices for these drugs are going higher. For instance, Novartis (NYSE: NVS) won approval for a new cancer drug last month that will cost $475,000. Cancer drug companies say prices are justified by sky-high costs associated with researching and developing these life-saving medicines but is that true?

In this week's episode of the Motley Fool's Industry Focus: Healthcare podcast, analyst Kristine Harjes is joined by contributor Todd Campbell to discuss new research that pegs the cost to develop a new cancer drug at $757 million. Listen in to learn how researchers came up with that figure, what other costs are responsible for high drug prices, and what's being done to rein prices in.

A full transcript follows the video.

Source: Fool.com