What good are whizzy new drugs if the world can’t afford them?

I N RECENT YEARS biotechnology and pharmaceutical science have produced quantum leaps that both offer great opportunity and pose great risk. Gene therapies for rare conditions and obesity drugs for larger segments of society could transform health for the better. But for that to happen, policymakers and the companies behind these new treatments need to adapt quickly to the daunting cost challenges associated with them.

Take gene therapies first. Seventeen single-dose therapies have been approved in America, with more than 80 expected by 2032. So far these treatments have targeted rare conditions, and many have the potential to be cures for serious or fatal conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy and sickle-cell disease.

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