A Money-Back Guarantee on a Cancer Drug

To bolster sales of Avastin in Germany, Roche tries refunds

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By Naomi Kresge and Ryan Flinn

November 17, 2011 at 11:26 PM UTC

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This article is part of the November 21, 2011 issue of businessweek.

Roche Holding is resorting to a radical new protocol to reverse a slump in sales of its blockbuster cancer therapy Avastin. The Swiss drugmaker is offering hospitals and insurers in Germany a money-back guarantee on the drug, which costs €3,000 to €6,000 per month ($4,110 to $8,220), depending on the kind of cancer being targeted. Avastin is approved for the treatment of lung, brain, kidney, and colon tumors.

Roche will pay a refund if patients given Avastin as a first-line treatment see their tumors worsen within three to seven months, according to a draft contract obtained by Bloomberg News. Daniel Grotzky, a spokesman for the Basel-based company, verified the information. The new contract was prompted by a law Germany passed last year that gives insurers the right to bargain with manufacturers on prices for new medicines.