Hands Off Our Cures
As a beneficiary of the robust miracle-making of American research and development, it always hits hard to see fellow survivors dismiss these gifts. Instead of championing breakthroughs, they embrace Rube Goldberg-style barriers to innovation. Breathlessly cursing the darkness and looking for more problems, instead of lighting a candle and finding common sense solutions.
The latest tactic by special interests is to divide people up and pit one against another in the arcane argument that may as well be about how many molecules can dance on the head of a pin.
Without much debate, the recently enacted healthcare provisions within the Inflation Reduction Act reversed years of bipartisan agreement with an unproven price control scheme. Risking the hopes of millions of people like me by adding even more uncertainty to the effort of research and discovery. Patent protections which have been safeguarding innovation and progress for the entire history of our country, are now made uncertain. How some drugs are treated vs. another is now subject to unscientific whims. Take, for instance, small molecule drug discovery. It has unquestionably produced some of the greatest treatments and therapies of modern medicine. From Aspirin to drugs like Vitrakvi, which can precisely target the origin of a cancer tumor, this treatment offers hope, especially for patients with rare, genetically defined diseases who would otherwise only have limited treatment options. Now, Washington wants to pick “winners and losers” by shortening exclusivity periods for small molecules, which only makes discovery more difficult.
These swirling arguments about small molecule vs. biologics avoid a central question: do we want more survivors or fewer, more breakthroughs or more delays? This ecosystem of medicine connects capital with science; incubating and uniting people who want to take a chance on brilliant ideas and research. It is delicate and complex. While I am a patient and not a doctor, I do know one thing: this is an ecosystem that produces results and has saved millions of lives, including my own. It’s worth protecting.
Some seem to want to slow breakthroughs before they happen because they don’t think we can “afford” them. They would deny us even the possibility and leave us instead with darkness and despair. Not recognizing that the cost is unbearable.
The most expensive prescription is to interfere with America’s ecosystem of medical breakthroughs. The inevitable outcome is one that subjects patients to the hopelessness of a life in a taxpayer-funded hospital bed. Forgotten, unproductive, dismissed.
Costly to taxpayers, to the economy, to the dignity of our fellow citizens. That is not who we are. Let’s encourage more cures, not fewer. Once we know a life can be saved, improved, or extended, our attitude should be “challenge accepted!” This shouldn’t be a tall order – our nation supports innovation in other sectors. If we can find $100 billion for EV charging stations and billions more for vaccines, we can help a family in need pay for life-changing sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis treatments.
While the DC swamp plays parlor tricks among special interests, we lose time and sight of what is important. Time that patients don’t have is wasted dithering because a policy wonk can’t comprehend how much is gained when survivors have hope for a future. It should not be outrageous to suggest that if we value medical breakthroughs, we shouldn’t impose uncertainty before the term of a 13-year patent ends. This way, we can continue incentivizing the R&D for these medical breakthroughs.
Policymakers need to stick to what we hired them for. Promote the general welfare, administer the government, and ensure hope for life, liberty, and some happiness. The IRA is already expected to chip away at the levels of innovation we need to foster a thriving medical breakthrough ecosystem. Arbitrarily reducing the timeframe for small molecule medicines will absolutely shift much-needed investments away from their discovery, ultimately hurting the patients fighting cancer, neurological conditions, and rare diseases.
Let the scientists, doctors, and researchers do what they do best: Creating solutions and saving lives. Maybe Washington should borrow an ancient phrase to address a new challenge: “first, do no harm.” With awe, appreciation, and gratitude, we can apply the compassion of the community, the empathy of our country, and, yes, our ideas of policymakers to effectively, efficiently, and safely help connect cures to those who need them. Let’s take “yes” for an answer, and take your hands off our cures.
John "CZ" Czwartacki is the chairman and founder of Survivors for Solutions.
