The death rate from cancer in the United States has fallen by more than one-third since 1991. HIV-related mortality has dropped ninefold since 1995. Death rates for Alzheimer’s, chronic respiratory diseases, and stroke have all declined in recent years, too.
These gains didn’t happen by accident. They’re the result of decades of medical innovation — from antiretroviral therapy drugs to breakthrough cancer treatments — that have helped people live longer, healthier lives.
These pharmaceutical breakthroughs have delivered enormous value beyond the bedside. By preventing hospitalizations, reducing complications, and enabling people to remain productive for longer, new medicines and treatments generate broadly shared benefits for society and the economy.
Now, some lawmakers are putting that progress at risk by trying to give the government more power over drug prices.
That’s a mistake. High drug prices are not a market failure. They are what make high-risk, high-reward medical innovations possible.