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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Cancer research is expensive — and the drug bills are staggering. A new analysis of nearly 1,400 federally sponsored cancer trials found a median drug cost of $7.58 million per trial, with federally led studies alone topping $11 million. Experts warn these costs are forcing researchers to rely on industry partners, which may be quietly steering the kinds of questions science is even allowed to ask.
Cancer research is expensive — and the drug bills are staggering. A new analysis of nearly 1,400 federally sponsored cancer trials found a median planned drug cost of $7.58 million per trial. When federal researchers are operating without industry co-sponsorship, that figure jumps to over $11 million. Federal funding typically covers infrastructure and operations, not the drugs themselves, leaving researchers to negotiate with pharma companies for access — a process that can take months or even a year to resolve.
That dependency on industry isn't just a logistical challenge — it's shaping the science. Drug companies aren't interested in every question federal researchers want to explore, such as whether a drug can be used at lower doses, combined with other therapies, or applied to rarer cancers. As a result, those questions often go unanswered.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: With NCI research funding declining and drug costs rising, the gap between what federal researchers want to study and what they can afford to study is widening. Experts are calling for policy reforms to rebalance a system where industry captures most of the financial upside while federally sponsored science does much of the foundational work.
