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

View Blog

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

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

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

£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 Sold for Many Times R&D Costs

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

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

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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Den CarterPetition

For too long the drugs industry has held the NHS to ransom. Time this practice ended.....human suffering should not be a commodity to trade in.

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?

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.

Catherine RowenPetition

The greed of these companies is totally sickening.

Cathy GougeFacebook

Why are these companies allowed to make disgusting profits? Massive wealth should not be made through illness.

Joanne AllmanPetition

The elephant in the room is the egregious conflict of interest between health and profit which has driven the development of ever more expensive, toxic drugs to the exclusion of more natural and affordable approaches.

M DelaneyPetition

It's is completely abhorrent how pharmaceutical companies profiteer from disease, illness and dying.

Ann CraughwellPetition

All drugs for cancer or any other illness need to be sold at a price that we the customer be that the NHS or private patients can afford and not make stupid amounts of profit for companies.

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.

Heather TurnballFacebook

Absolutely disgusting, how do they get away with it?

Vernon FewtrellFacebook

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

Louise CrawleyPetition

Disgusting that there are people benefiting out of peoples misery with cancer. It is an evil evil thing. My mum is going through it now and I would give every inch of my being if it meant helping her get better.

James BrannanPetition

I totally agree that of course people's lives must come before profits. We can't hold back anything that helps progress towards saving lives.

Wendy McCormackPetition

Healthcare must not be profit driven - that's just immoral.

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.

Susan DowlingPetition

I think its disgusting that there are people in this world that will put money before human life.

Hayley NealePetition

I couldn't agree with this more. We hear about 'break-throughs' in the media so often and yet those that need it rarely get the benefits of it.

Pat JohnsonPetition

Saving lives should never be about profit, money making or greed! Think if it was one of your own family!

Maureen WalkerFacebook

Should cap profit and save lives,it makes sense...

Len AndersdonPetition

Too many people profit from cancer research.

Anthony ThomasPetition

Extreme profit from illness is disgusting.

Eva RoePetition

A cure for cancer could be within our grasp if global reforms could be made so that countries research teams could work together.

Elizabeth CarballoPetition

The cost of making the drug does not reflect the price, if it's life saving, let them have it.

Beverley ChristopherPetition

Curing the sick whatever the disease should not be an opportunity for few greedy people to make a fortune.

Carol RaffertyFacebook

Absolutely disgraceful, shame on this government.

Lorna BoyesPetition

It is a disgrace that this is happening. Our health is paramount, if it was up to the people of this country, we would do all we can to do the right thing.

Diarmaid McDonaldPetition

It is time we challenged big pharma's lies.

Christine DunphyPetition

Get this changed Cameron. NOW!!!!!

Carole CorePetition

When we support cancer are doing just that - not for any other reason than to find cures and make our loved ones better. Forget the profiteering that may be in involve - i's not for them we do it.

Fiona DownsPetition

We need to stop people getting rich from others suffering.

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Cancer Cures Held Back By Pursuit of Profit

Facts and Figures

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NHS Pays £0.5bn for Public Funded Drugs