| [<<previous | 1 | 2 | 3 |
4 | 5 | 6 | next >>]
CBC MARKETPLACE: HEALTH » CANCER
Cashing in on cancer: The big
business of cancer drugs and treatments
Broadcast: March 5, 2006
The scene at this year's
International Congress on Anti-Cancer Treatment. |
A big part of the cancer story is about money.
Canada has a limited budget when it comes to spending
on cancer. At the moment, the biggest chunk of that money
goes towards a growing roster of cancer drugs and treatments.
When it comes to the cancer industry, big
bucks are at stake.
At the
recent International
Congress on Anti-Cancer Treatment,
pharmaceutical companies from around the world attended;
they were there to pitch the latest cancer drugs and treatments.
There were congratulatory handshakes over
announcements of new advancements; drug company reps grinned
enthusiastically when asked how business was going.
| THE CANCER INDUSTRY |
In 2006,
cancer drugs will be the fastest growing class of
pharmaceuticals in the world, exceeding $37 billion
in sales. |
Dr. James Holland is an oncologist, chemotherapy
researcher and one of the founders of the conference. When
he spoke with Marketplace host Wendy Mesley, he
was straightforward about why prevention isn't a bigger
priority:
MESLEY: This whole [conference] is about treating
cancer, which is great, but why isn't there more on prevention?
HOLLAND: Well, this is a
conference on therapies... But prevention is the ultimate
goal and I think that you're right. Why is there so little
done comparatively in cancer prevention? Because there are
no companies that are devoted to cancer prevention as there
are to cancer treatment.
MESLEY: Why not?
HOLLAND: Because there's
no incentive economically for them.
MESLEY: So drug companies
won't invest in prevention until there's a product to sell?
HOLLAND: In order to stay
viable, any company has to make at least a break-even.
They can't potentially invest all the time in charitable
undertakings. That's philanthropy.
"There are no companies
that are devoted to cancer prevention as there are
to cancer treatment," says Dr. James Holland. "There’s
no incentive economically for them." |
People like Holland and the other attendees
at the ICACT talk a lot about "managing" cancer:
that with advances in treatments and drugs, less people
will die from and it and those who get it will live
longer.
That's great, except that we're already at
the point where we can't pay to treat all of the people
who have cancer now. And more people are lining up in the
cancer-treatment queue as cancer rates climb.
Mesley's breast cancer treatments cost
the health care system over $60,000.
All told, cancer costs
the Canadian economy an estimated $14 billion a year.
And with every new case that comes along, that number
climbs higher and higher.
Mesley say she's "very thankful for
the drugs that I've been given. But why don't we start dealing
with the root problem, instead of focusing almost entirely
on damage control?" |
CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content
of external sites. Links will open in new window.
