Dying for a Cure

The development of affordable and long lasting treatments for cancer is being held back by a need to satisfy the ambitious commercial objectives of the pharmaceutical industry, which are often at odds with the needs of patients. This has led to exorbitant pricing for new drugs, a failure to invest in promising discoveries that have limited commercial benefits and a drip-feed of new drugs of marginal therapeutic benefit rather than genuine breakthroughs for patients.

Our goal may be to beat cancer sooner but the current profit-led R&D system is geared to beat cancer later, as that's more beneficial for the drug companies who we depend on to turn cancer research into new medicines. We desperately need the R&D system to be reformed, so that it focuses on maximising benefits for patients rather than maximising profits.

In October 2014, Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of the Institute of Cancer Research and one of the world’s leading experts in cancer drug discovery, told the World Oncology Forum that “the global system for discovering new cancer drugs is broken and failing to turn scientific advances into enough innovative new medicines”.

In September 2015, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe concluded that conflicts of interest between profits and public health within the pharmaceutical industry have led to a lack of new drugs of real therapeutic benefit in recent years and shocking levels of profiteering. Backed by the UK, it voted overwhelmingly in favour of a European-wide Resolution to tackle the issue.

In March 2016, Sir Richard Thompson, the Queen’s personal doctor for 21 years and a former-president of the Royal College of Physicians, warned that drug companies are developing medicines they can profit from, rather than those which are likely to be the most beneficial and he accused the NHS of failing to stand up to the pharmaceutical companies.

It is madness that governments are allowing cancer to be commercially exploited given the scale of suffering and death, and a kick in the teeth for all those who help by donating money to cancer research. We need to stop treating cancer like a money-making opportunity and start treating it like the humanitarian crisis it is.

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"The whole model of cancer drug discovery is
broken and in need of help"

Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive and President of the Institute of Cancer Research

Pharmaceutical companies are not to blame for this - they are doing what commercial organisations are supposed to do; act in the best interests of their shareholders.

The blame lies with us; with Society. We have placed the responsibility for developing cures for our most deadly diseases into the hands of organisations motivated primarily by profit rather than public health and have failed to put in place regulations or incentives to protect public health interests.

Changes We Want To See

Overhaul Cancer Drug Development

We are campaigning for the UK Government to tackle failures in the system for developing cancer drugs that have led to:

profiteering - a failure to curb excessive profit margins on drug prices, leading to drugs being priced out of reach of patients;
missed opportunities - a failure to attract investment in promising discoveries with limited commercial potential, or to provide alternative public funding;
ineffective drugs - a failure to reward development of drugs with greater therapeutic benefit, in order to speed up progress.

All of these issues have arisen due to the conflicting needs of the pharmaceutical industry, which we rely on to develop cures, and the patients who need them - put simply, wealth vs health.

We are calling on the UK Government to:

acknowledge the conflicting goals of those developing cancer drugs and those who need them
better regulate the pharmaceutical industry to protect cancer patients' interests
ensure that cancer drug prices reflect costs and the public contribution to their discovery
find ways to reduce the costs of bringing new cancer drugs to market to ease prices
publicly fund promising cancer treatments that fail to attract private investment
work with the World Health Organisation to consider alternative drug development models
to work with other countries to agree a goal and timeframe to cure the majority of cancers

How You Can Help

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Sign Our Petition

Please sign our petition calling on the UK Government to reform the whole process for developing cancer drugs, so that it focuses on maximising benefits for patients rather than profits.
This is the single most important thing you can do to help. more

Share Our Campaign

This issue is probably the single biggest obstacle to beating cancer sooner, so please help us to raise awareness of it as widely as possible by sharing the link to this website with your friends and family. The more awareness we can raise, the more hope there is for change. more

Write To Your MP

Please write to your MP to help us get these issues discussed in parliament. It's very easy to do this online and we have a sample letter you can use if you wish. more

Get Involved

Do you have expertise that you can offer to help the campaign? We need help with promotion, lobbying, research and funding to help build awareness and get our message across, as well as with the day to day running of the campaign. more

From the Blog

Cancer Drug Benefits Are Overhyped

Barely a month goes by without a newspaper headline hailing the latest “Major cancer breakthrough”, but dig beneath the media hype and you’ll discover the shocking reality that new cancer drugs for most cancers are only expected to improve patient survival by just 2.7 months on average. more

Cancer Research Donations Wasted By Inefficient R&D System

Is Cancer Research Money Well Spent?

When we give money to cancer research charities like Cancer Research UK we expect that money to be used efficiently but less than 2% is likely to be spent on researching new drugs that can be given to NHS cancer patients as a routine treatment. more

£99 Cancer Drug Being Sold for £83,000

Shocking new evidence has come to light of massive profiteering from cancer drugs - one cancer drug that costs only £99 to make is being being sold for up to £83,000, despite R&D costs being paid back over 10 years years ago. more

NHS Can’t Afford Half New Cancer Drugs

Half of new cancer drugs are too pricey for the NHS due to profiteering by drug companies. The Government is choosing to leave patients to die early rather than exercise its legal powers to obtain the newer, more effective drugs from a cheaper alternative source. more

95% of Promising Cancer Research Fails

The British public pays £2.5bn a year towards the cost of developing new drugs for cancer, but 95% of cancer research discoveries don't work in patients and half of the 5% that do the NHS can't afford. Is this money well spent? more

Are We Being Misled On Cancer Progress?

Evidence has come to light that the public may be being misled about our progress on beating cancer and that progress is almost certainly not as good as that implied by the much touted cancer survival statistics. more

Cancer Drugs Fund Was Short-Sighted

The Cancer Drugs Fund was put forward by David Cameron during the 2010 General Election campaign – a tempting olive branch for many cancer patients desperate for expensive life-saving drugs but in reality a short-sighted, vote-winning gesture that has helped to make drugs even more unaffordable in the longer term. more

Cancer Drugs Sold for 25 Times R&D Costs

A new medical study has found that the latest new cancer drugs are being sold for many times the costs spent developing them; resulting in mega profits for the drug companies who own them and restricted access to these drugs for only the wealthiest patients and healthcare providers. more

Cancer Drug Costs Could Be Halved

The cost of developing new cancer drugs could be halved at least if we cooperated across the world to publicly fund R&D, using cheaper finance, eliminating wasteful duplication and developing drugs for public benefit not for profit. more

Comments from Supporters

These are a selection comments from people supporting the campaign. Help us tell those in Government that this is an issue that people care about, which is costing lives and causing unnecessary suffering: Sign the Petition Now

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Rachel OwenPetition

Most of this research is paid for by Cancer Research - money raised by the public, myself included. Why should we raise money only to have it hoarded by drug companies who charge too much. NHS is in crisis! These unfair profit margins and mark ups should be investigated and not be allowed to continue.

Vanessa ElaineFacebook

It's crazy! And it's this way everywhere. It's the same here in the US. They've gotten away with it way too long!

Janine GovePetition

There seem to have been many cancer breakthroughs in recent years, that have flared into a bright hope before fading away without ever becoming mainstream treatment. To learn that in treating seriously ill people, profit is put before innovation and progression, has left me appalled at the sheer waste of top notch research and the charity that funds it.

Lorraine MurphyPetition

My husband was forced to have chemotherapy which he didn't want in order to get the drug he needed, which cost a lot more - the chemotherapy didn't work.

Susanna WilliamsPetition

I am despondent about the race for profits by the pharma industry in seeking new cancer breaking drugs. I also am getting cynical about the UK's cancer charities and ask myself what are they doing with the millions of pounds they attract each year?

Malcolm WilsonPetition

People need these drugs to save their lives. Whilst I know it costs a lot to design, trial and manufacture, the price you charge is just disgraceful. How about showing a little humanity instead of fleecing dying families??

Marion RyanPetition

While cancer patients continue accepting and taking these useless drugs , no cures will be found...why would there!!

Jayne HeathFacebook

People all over donate money, raise money for cancer so people get what they need. There should be no price on these drugs apart from a prescription charge if need be. We pay to help others live and they deny them. Disgusting.

Chris WilderPetition

This is serious and nothing to do with politics, just pure avarice.

Ann AbbottFacebook

Abuse of those of us who do what we can to support charities whose money funds the research that is supposed to help those suffering.

Avril WilliamsFacebook

I lost my dad 20yrs ago and my brother 3 yrs ago and now I'm going through it makes me so sick its all about money.

Sue JonesFacebook

There aren't even enough words for people who profit from dying people and actually cause death because they only care about money. Beggars belief it's so shameful.

Ann ChadwickPetition

My husband is one of these people. It makes me so angry. Greed before need. I believe in Karma.

Kat PetrovicPetition

It is an outrage that we should have to petition for this. The government and we the people should be ashamed to let this go on.

Bob NewmanFacebook

Research takes a large amount of money but it is immoral to charge extortionate amounts such as this. The bosses of these Corporations need taking down a peg or two. Profits are fine but these percentages are ridiculous!

Maxine CookPetition

It is a travesty of humanity to deny people the best shot at survival because keeping them sick pays more.

Sue De CesarePetition

We have an epidemic in the UK which is being ignored. Integrative Medicine is the answer but no one is listening. I hope this creates some big noise which the government cannot ignore.

Peter WoodPetition

Drug companies make massive profits out of all their drug manufacturing, its about time all of these companies amalgamated their efforts to eradicate cancer once and for all.Stop looking at the profit margin for cancer drugs, for once please think of what living with cancer is really like. PLEASE. Thank you.

Wendy NealPetition

Its outrageous that cancer patients are suffering because of exorbitant prices of new drugs STOP IT NOW.

Gloria BradyFacebook

It's a pity the EU don't get to grips with this serious situation instead of passing stupid laws on what we eat and what size it should be.

Catherine DavisPetition

Make the industry back off. Stop this behaviour now. It is stealing our loved ones. Please I beg you with all of me to put a stop to this.

Vernon FewtrellFacebook

How many times do they need to get their R&D costs back?

Fiona DownsPetition

We need to stop people getting rich from others suffering.

Clive NicholasPetition

The market is not sufficiently capable of rewarding cure or preventative treatments as well as life sustaining drugs.

Madeleine NoakesFacebook

That's why they don't want to find a permanent cure for cancer toooooooo much money in so called cancer drugs.

Donna LowerFacebook

Disgusting. We pay towards the research and yet when drugs are created then we cant afford to buy them!!!

Lorna CookeFacebook

This is disgusting the Government needs to make a stand!!

Louise CartwrightPetition

You can't put a price on someone's life. A few extra years could mean that they could watch a child grow, get married, meet a grandchild, and lots more.

Maureen HendersonPetition

These drugs should be for everyone not just the rich.

Helen BeaumontPetition

Not much shocks me these days but this did to the core. Had breast cancer in 2014 (now a 1 in 8 chance in UK) & never thought that my life could have been compromised for greedy profiteering companies. Governments should stand firm in their condemnation of this practice so it brings into question what their gain is in allowing this to continue. Disgusted that money given generously by the public to Cancer Research is so abused.

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Cancer Cures Held Back By Pursuit of Profit

Facts and Figures

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Cancer Drugs Sold for 25 Times R&D Costs