Table 3

Cost per prescription of antineoplastic agents in Taiwan (2009–2012)

		Cost per prescription (US$)
Drug class	Drug name for patients with cancer	2009	2010	2011	2012
All antineoplastic agents		260	281	287	297
Targeted therapies		1088	1181	1073	1005
Monoclonal antibodies	Rituximab, trastuzumab, cetuximab, bevacizumab	1380	1527	1351	1224
Protein kinase inhibitors	Imatinib, gefitinib, erlotinib, sunitinib, sorafenib, dasatinib, nilotinib, temsirolimus, everolimus, pazopanib	823	858	771	776
Other targeted therapy agents	bortezomib	1847	1739	1631	1461
Alkylating agents		124	132	129	128
Nitrogen mustard analogues	Cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil, melphalan, ifosfamide, bendamustine	40	42	39	33
Alkyl sulfonates	Busulfan	1244	1630	1447	1915
Nitrosoureas	Carmustine	166	199	582	1222
Other alkylating agents	Temozolomide, dacarbazine	841	833	650	768
Antimetabolites		106	121	119	115
Folic acid analogues	Methotrexate, pemetrexed	99	145	158	155
Purine analogues	Mercaptopurine, cladribine, fludarabine	24	22	30	24
Pyrimidine analogues	Cytarabine, fluorouracil, tegafur, gemcitabine, capecitabine, tegafur_combinations	112	110	98	93
Plant Alkaloids and other Natural Products		366	328	338	346
Vinca alkaloids and analogues	Vinblastine, vincristine, vinorelbine	242	257	271	285
Podophyllotoxin derivatives	Etoposide	75	54	50	46
Taxanes	Paclitaxel, docetaxel	546	463	458	470
Cytotoxic antibiotics and related substances		187	186	187	178
Actinomycines	Dactinomycin	27	27	27	25
Anthracyclines and related substances	Doxorubicin, daunorubicin, epirubicin, idarubicin, mitoxantrone	246	241	239	227
Other cytotoxic antibiotics	Bleomycin, mitomycin	42	44	44	47
Other non-targeted therapies		380	376	375	342
Platinum compounds	Cisplatin, carboplatin, oxaliplatin	198	189	171	116
Sensitisers used in photodynamic/radiation therapy	Verteporfin	1413	1413	1413	1413
Others	Asparaginase, hydroxycarbamide, estramustine, tretinoin, topotecan, irinotecan, mitotane, arsenic trioxide	750	770	745	710