Curbing the Costs of Cancer Treatment

According to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, the average expenditures for making a prescription drug commercially available in the United States surpassed $2.6 billion in 2014. Adding to these costs is the decade, on average, that it takes to navigate the research, development, and regulatory hurdles associated with prescription drugs. Such rising costs are passed on to the consumer resulting in a mounting financial burden that threatens the sustainability of public and private insurance programs, alike. In the wake of growing criticism of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the role of its protracted regulatory processes in the rising costs of drugs, Congress unveiled the 21st Century Cures Act. While this legislation is intended, among other things, to shorten the drug approval process, there is concern that it may compromise current standards for the safety and efficacy of prescription drugs. Is the 21st Century Cures Act the answer to enhancing access to life saving cancer treatments while curbing costs or is it a recipe for disaster?