Drug discoveries can, when used appropriately, save lives. Since 1970, cancer death rates among people aged under 65 have halved in countries such as the USA and the UK. Despite pharmaceutical market imperfections and fears about the prices of new treatments, further progress should be possible during the 2020s. Anticancer medicine outlays account for 0.1–0.2% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of developed countries. Total cancer service spending typically stands at ∼0.8% of GDP. The affordability of these sums is a political calculation. Improvements in the efficiency of drug development and global access to effective therapies are desirable. However, from a public interest perspective, these goals should not be pursued in ways that understate the value of better treatment outcomes and threaten the funding available for ongoing innovation.

如果使用得当，药物的发现可以挽救生命。自 1970 年以来，在美国和英国等国家，65 岁以下人群的癌症死亡率已减半。尽管医药市场不完善并且对新疗法的价格感到担忧，但在 2020 年代应该有可能取得进一步的进展。发达国家抗癌药物支出占国内生产总值（GDP）的0.1%~0.2%。癌症服务总支出通常占 GDP 的 0.8%。这些资金的承受能力是一个政治考量。提高药物开发效率和全球获得有效治疗方法是值得期待的。然而，从公共利益的角度来看，追求这些目标的方式不应低估更好的治疗结果的价值并威胁到持续创新的资金来源。