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Democrats’ Price Control Scheme is a Surrender in the Fight Against Cancer

August 02, 2022

Although the Biden Administration has repeatedly asserted that reducing cancer deaths and working towards ending cancer is a priority, Democrats’ dangerous price-setting scheme waves the white flag in the fight against this devastating disease.

 

Americans need cancer treatments.

  • Cancer assails nearly 40 percent of men and women at some point in their lifetime.
  • In 2022 alone, there will be 1.9 million new cancer cases and over 609,000 cancer deaths in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
  • In their latest socialist price-fixing scheme, Democrats halt crucial incentives for innovation and development of cures for cancer and limit current cancer patients’ access to low-cost medicines.

 

READ: Study: Democrats’ Price Controls Would Have Killed 104 Cures We Have Today

 

Democrats wave the white flag in the fight against curing cancer by halting development and innovation of new cancer drugs.

  • Certain cancer drugs are estimated to cost nearly $4.5 billion to develop and can take over ten years to bring to market, yet price controls in Democrats’ bill eliminates and further delays incentives to innovate and develop new drugs.
  • The Council of State Bio Associations warns that socialist drug price controls will get in the way of the fight against cancer: “In oncology alone, the University of Chicago found that price controls would reduce overall annual cancer R&D spending by about $18.1 billion, or 31.8 percent.”
    • They continue: “The specter of government price setting threatens to undermine a sector that has created over 1.8 million jobs across all 50 states and that represents a large portion of our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – generating an economic output of approximately $2.6 trillion annually.”

 

Democrats’ proposal means cancer patients will pay more for fewer choices.

  • Democrats’ proposal undermines investment in crucial but expensive development of lower-cost cancer drugs called biosimilar medications, that are often used in cancer patients to kill cancer cells more effectively.
  • Biosimilar medications also help cancer patients and the healthcare system by providing lower-cost options to patients, and have the potential to save patients and the health care system up to $40 billion through 2026.
  • Development of crucial biosimilar medicines is an expensive investment – costing up to $200 million per drug.
  • The Democrats’ price-setting scheme will reduce competition and harm future savings from biosimilar medicines.
  • Research shows that government price controls on pharmaceutical drugs will lead to fewer new cures and, specifically, more deaths among cancer patients,” senior Health Policy Fellow at Americans for Prosperity Dean Clancy said in a recent statement, warning that Democrats’ bill will have horrific consequences for cancer patients.