Medicines for the World

Evidence is mounting that the existing global system for pharmaceutical R&D is badly out of tune with the needs of society. Recently, national health systems in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands shied away from providing certain recommended medicines due to price. In the United States, waiting lists for state HIV drug assistance are lengthening due to the high cost of drugs (frequently more than US$20,000 per patient per year)—a painful irony as evidence rapidly mounts that earlier treatment of HIV not only benefits the patient, but also reduces the risk of transmission. Medicine prices are often just as high in developing countries, though incomes are far lower and social safety nets much weaker. In India, a year’s supply of the patented kidney cancer drug sorafenib is priced at more than US$60,000 per year, though the average annual income is less than $1,500. Governments, insurers, and households everywhere are struggling ...