Our center’s latest research has been published in Health Affairs, one of the world’s leading journals in health policy, widely recognized for its authority and high impact (2023 Impact Factor: 8.1). The article, titled “Follow-On Cancer Drugs Target Earlier Stages Than Initial Drugs: Implications of the IRA”, provides new empirical evidence on how oncology drug development patterns are evolving under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Using a novel FDA dataset covering 184 oncology drug approvals from 2000 to 2024, the study finds that 41.8 percent of cancer drugs received at least one follow-on approval, and 59.7 percent of these follow-on indications targeted earlier disease stages than the original approval. On average, follow-on approvals represented a 0.54 stage reduction, reflecting movement toward earlier, more treatable stages. The analysis suggests that the IRA’s shortened exclusivity period may be influencing development strategies, shifting efforts from deep, sequential development to broader, horizontal expansion across tumor types and populations, particularly affecting small-molecule drugs.
To read the full paper, click here.