Government caps on innovation endanger life-saving medication 

American patients have faster access to a wider range of medicines than anyone else — at least for now.  

That’s because entrepreneurs and businesses in America continually harness the latest science to develop treatments and cures for life-threatening diseases like cancer and chronic conditions such as diabetes. 

However, there are looming threats from unelected bureaucrats and some members of Congress, which could have dire consequences for advancing private-sector medical innovation. One example is the utilization of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra to impose artificial price controls on the development of small molecule drug discovery — an essential and invaluable component of many patients’ treatment.   

Furthermore, the Senate’s recently introduced SMART Prices Act proposes additional price controls in the United States, which, based on evidence from other leading economies, irreversibly damages access to the latest medical innovations. 

Innovation from the private sector plays a vital role in developing new medical diagnostics, treatments, and cures — accounting for up to 90 percent of new pharmaceutical products. Without their risk-taking and investments, these innovations would never reach patients. While government funding for early-stage scientific research is essential, the private sector leads 75 percent of research and development efforts. Simply put, innovative medicines are delivered to patients through applied science from private companies. 

As they have in Europe and elsewhere, price controls will force these innovators to exit America’s innovation marketplace in droves and shelve promising new medical treatments. A recent study shows that price controls may put the development of more than 400 new medicines at risk.

It’s already happening. Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said the company had already dropped a blood cancer drug from its research and development pipeline because they “couldn’t make the math work.” He said, “In light of the Inflation Reduction Act, this program no longer met the threshold for continued investment.” Likewise, Alnylam ceased their research and development into a new treatment for a rare eye disease due to the need “to evaluate the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act.” Similarly, Novartis warned that the IRA could discourage investment in its most promising areas of research and development: RNA and radioligands.  

The data shows this is the trend unless something changes. The U.S. Chamber Patient Access Report shows how market-restrictive policies, like those in the IRA and SMART Prices Act, deter future innovation, inhibit patient access, and ultimately limit patient choices. The report shows other leading nations that have implemented similar policies see fewer overall biopharmaceutical product launches, including biologics and oncology products, and longer wait times for new medicines to enter the marketplace.  

Out of the 104 new oncology products launched globally since 2017, 80 percent were accessible to American patients, as opposed to 56 percent in Europe. Meanwhile, patients in other highly developed nations with price controls face long wait times to access new treatments. For instance, in Germany, patients waited an average of 133 days, while in Spain, some had to wait up to 500 days.  

American patients deserve better. That’s why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will continue championing the work of our brightest scientific minds and most innovative companies through a comprehensive campaign to educate policymakers about the life-or-death consequences the IRA, SMART Prices Act, and other price control mechanisms will have on the most vulnerable Americans.  

We urge our leaders to undo the innovation-killing IRA provisions and to abandon consideration of the proposed SMART Prices Act before it’s too late.  

Katie Mahoney is Vice President, Health Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Brad Watts is Vice President, Patents and Innovation Policy, at the Chamber’s Global Innovation Policy Center.