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 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 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 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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Maureen HendersonPetition

These drugs should be for everyone not just the rich.

Karina ParksPetition

When people are dying you don't hold back medicine that could save a life!!!

Kate WestgatePetition

Making huge profits like this is disgusting and immoral!

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.

Louise DickinsonPetition

I believe those who are profiteering from the sale of these drugs at over- inflated prices have blood on their hands, much the same as any murderer. They have the means to save lives but choose not to do so. Shame on them!

Shirley Clatworthy Facebook

Why is this being allowed to happen - the world is going to pot over money.

Linda McLayFacebook

What a bloody joke!! Shocking....profit over lives!!

Jenny CassidyPetition

I'm outraged at the amount of money given to cancer research over the many years only to be told the drugs that can cure or help are too expensive for me to have...

Robert HallidayFacebook

Why is this being allowed to happen, how can these drugs cost so much they say they need research but surely once they, develop the drugs it cant cost that much to reproduce, they are heartless?

Angela ThompsonPetition

When you watch someone you love die of cancer & then realise drug companies are profiteering from their suffering it is sickening.

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.

Yvonne KirkhamFacebook

Cancer research has contributed towards how these drug companies find the solution. The price is their snub to the sufferers.

Michelle McIntoshPetition

People profiteering and living the life of luxury, from the devastating illness of another human being is inhumane, degrading,selfish and disgusting.

Rachel AdamsPetition

It is diabolical that big pharma is profiteering on the back the pain, misery and death of cancer victims and their loved ones. Anyone complicit in this process does not belong in public office. Prove your worth and stop this hideous practice before more lives are ended prematurely and in agony.

Paul DonnachiePetition

I object to rich companies using patent laws to rip off the sick and dying with high charges.

Kevin MailePetition

Scandalous.

Maureen DaviesFacebook

These drug companies should be taken over by the government so that they can no longer extort money from sick people, cos that is what they are doing.

Jim SpeedPetition

Yet another case of "rip off Britain" and the indifference of the good time over paid boys in parliament.

Wendy HarrisonPetition

My son died of cancer at the age of 25. He was diagnosed with a rare sarcoma when he was 22. His chemo was so harsh but he endured it because he wanted to live, It is immoral to make such a huge profit at the cost of lives. It must be stopped.

Anthony ThomasPetition

Extreme profit from illness is disgusting.

Keith BennettPetition

Why IS such important work in the hands of private companies ????? Government wastes billions of OUR Money on weapons research, & on propping up corrupt regimes. Can`t WE fund Cancer research & give REAL hope of affordable treatment to seriously ill People?

Julia NealPetition

It's one thing to cover the cost of development and make a reasonable profit, but it's quite another to make treatment out of the reach of millions when the cost is so little.

Shirley NyeFacebook

Bloody criminal, your life is worth nothing today, it's all about the money!!

Ernest HaslamFacebook

Since 1998 we have been giving a donation EVERY MONTH to cancer research. When we found out a couple of years ago that this was going on we stopped giving to cancer research. We now give to a local charity who we know really need the money.

Marion RyanPetition

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

Hazel BennettFacebook

It's an absolute disgrace, the government should step in now we know the sick are being ripped off

David McAndrewPetition

The criminal profiteering of drug companies is an utter disgrace and must be stopped from happening.

Vernon FewtrellFacebook

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

Diarmaid McDonaldPetition

It is time we challenged big pharma's lies.

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.

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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