Make Cancer Drug Prices National Priority: Panel

The President’s Cancer Panel is calling on President Donald Trump to make the dramatic rise of cancer drug prices a national priority that requires a “concerted, immediate, bipartisan, and multilateral effort.” In a report to Trump, the three panel members say they propose balanced solutions aimed at growing a robust pipeline of innovative cancer drugs and ensuring that they are accessible and affordable to those who need them.

The report says that actions to address cancer drug costs should follow these key guiding principles — cancer drug prices should be aligned with their value to patients, all patients should have affordable access to appropriate cancer drugs, and investments in science are essential to drive future innovation. Its recommendations including having FDA reduce barriers to market entry for generic drugs and biosimilars, and ensuring that the agency has appropriate resources to efficiently assess cancer drug safety and efficiency.