Introduction
Many people are born with or develop very serious medical problems that threaten to shorten their lives or severely reduce their quality of life. This tragedy can be avoided or ameliorated with innovative pharmaceutical treatments. Simply put, pharmaceuticals can help people lead happier, longer, and more productive lives. But pharmaceutical innovation in the United States has slowed in recent decades while pharmaceutical costs have skyrocketed, placing many vulnerable individuals beyond the hope of receiving life-changing drugs.
Between the 1970s and 2000s, the average cost of bringing a new pharmaceutical to market increased by an order of magnitude, even after adjusting
