The Biden Administration claimed that accelerating progress towards curing cancer was a priority, yet the new Manchin-Biden Build Back Better bill is a surrender in the fight against cancer. It leaves patients with fewer choices and higher prices, and halts progress towards lifesaving cancer treatments and cures.

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

The Wall Street Journal editorial board notes that  Richard Gonzales, CEO of AbbVie, a pharmaceutical research and development company, said of the Democrats’ socialist drug price control scheme: “It’s not a negotiation. We should just call it what it is. It’s price controls.”

The bill delays progress towards new treatments that might save a cancer patient’s life by disincentivizing testing of drugs against different forms of cancer and for us in late-stage patients:

From the Wall Street Journal:

“[Mr. Gonzalez] also warned that drug makers will face a perverse dilemma: ‘Do I choose not to seek approval in those late-stage patients so I don’t start the clock?’ By waiting longer before seeking approval, drug makers could boost the return on their investment.

 

“Mr. Gonzalez said the deal also creates a disincentive to test treatments for new indications. Treatments that work against one form of cancer often will work against others, especially drugs that target common gene or protein mutations—e.g., the KRAS mutation that can cause colon, lung and pancreatic cancer.”

 

The Wall Street Journal editorial board concludes:

“Democrats say their price controls will save the federal government $288 billion, but this doesn’t take into account the less visible cost of altering incentives to invest in pharmaceutical innovation. One way or another, patients will pay a steep price.”

CLICK HERE to read the full editorial.