Senators Call on Tri-Source Pharma to Explain 1,400% Price Spike of Decades-Old Cancer Drug

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) sent a letter to Robert DiCrisci, the CEO of Tri-Source Pharma, seeking additional information on a significant price spike for the 40-year-old, off-patent cancer drug lomustine.  NextSource Biopharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Tri-Source Pharma, acquired lomustine and increased the price 1,400 percent over a four-year period. 

“…[W]e want to learn more about NextSource Biotechnology LLC’s acquisition of the rights to sell lomustine, a prescription drug used to treat brain tumors and Hodgkin lymphoma,” Senators Collins, McCaskill, and Cortez Masto wrote.  “In particular, we would like to better understand the factors contributing to the rising cost of lomustine, which has increased nearly 1,400 percent since 2013 for the highest dose.”

Lomustine was originally approved by the FDA in 1976 for treatment of brain tumors and Hodgkin lymphoma.  It is one of only four FDA-approved treatments for glioblastoma, the most common and deadliest form of malignant brain tumor in adults.  It is also used off-label to treat other forms of cancer.

In 2015, Senators Collins and McCaskill, the Chairman and former Ranking Member of the Aging Committee, launched the Senate’s only bipartisan investigation into the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to egregious price spikes for certain generic, off-patent drugs.  They released a report on their investigation in 2016.  Following their investigation, Senators Collins and McCaskill authored a bill to improve generic competition and increase the affordability and accessibility of prescription drugs that was signed into law as part of the FDA Reauthorization Act.