How Price Controls Threaten America’s Fight Against Cancer

Since 2017, eighty percent (80%) of new cancer treatments have been launched in the United States, with wide availability to patients, and hundreds of new treatments are on the way. However, a new analysis confirms what the Chamber’s research already shows: that price controls on medicines restrict access to treatments and that America’s cancer innovation pipeline is under threat by flawed policymaking in Washington, D.C.

What the Experts are Saying: A new article in JAMA Oncology explores how the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) price caps on medicines could reduce investment in new cancer innovation. The IRA allows bureaucrats to set prices for innovative medicines- including cancer treatments - and impose crippling punitive damages on innovators that fail to agree to or abide by those prices. The JAMA study concludes that, “the effects [of the IRA] could manifest as diminished clinical trial activity; a shift by companies or investors away from small-molecule drug development; or decreased early-stage investment into cancer….”  This follows other studies that have shown that price controls discourage launches of the newest treatments, even where they may be available elsewhere.

Less research, fewer innovations: The new study concludes that the IRA could “reduce the breadth of trials conducted for new drugs.” Chamber research affirms this: price controls included in the IRA are projected to cause early-phase cancer research to drop by almost 60%. As a result, new discoveries will never make it out of the laboratory. In addition, the IRA could disincentivize innovators from conducting research on existing medicines. This is particularly concerning for oncology:  innovators routinely study existing ingredients’ efficacy for other kinds of cancer or other patient populations. These post-approval studies often lead to meaningful advances for patients.

The bottom line: While the IRA’s price caps are a danger to all life science innovation, they also specifically target “small-molecules” - the types of medicines that most commonly treat cancer, and that are easiest to take at home - four years sooner than other medicines. This discrepancy unfairly punishes cancer patients and stops essential research. Fortunately, we can still reverse course. By pursuing new policies that keep the innovation pipeline open, we can help patients and fuel new research.  If our leaders reject price controls and promote policies that support innovation, the cure for cancer may be within reach.

About the authors

Brad Watts

Brad Watts is the Vice President for Patents and Innovation Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC). He works with U.S. Chamber members to foster a political, legal, and economic environment where innovators and creators can invest in the next big thing for the benefit of Americans and the world.

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