New Case Study Highlights the Risk of Severe Treatment Delays for U.S. Patients Fighting Cancer Due to MFN

For millions of Americans living with cancer, access to innovative treatments is urgent and often lifesaving. The U.S. has long led the world in developing cutting-edge therapies, giving patients earlier access to new medicines and contributing to improved survival rates and quality of life. With 345 cancer medicines launched over a twelve-year span compared to just 191 in the U.K., a difference that translates directly into more treatment options and better outcomes for patients, it is clear that preserving that leadership must remain a top priority for policymakers.

A new case study demonstrates how patients with cancer in the U.K. have waited years, sometimes more than a decade, for access to a blood cancer medicine that is widely available in the U.S. This stark contrast highlights how price control policies, such as the Trump administration’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) proposals, which would tie U.S. drug prices to those set by foreign governments, risk undermining the very system that facilitates robust access to the latest treatments available to Americans today.

Countries that rely on government-mandated price setting, like the U.K., utilize cost-effectiveness frameworks, such as the quality-adjusted life year (QALY), that systematically serve to delay or deny access to treatments by an arbitrary, and arguably unethical, measure. In this new series of case studies, the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease will demonstrate how importing such pricing frameworks into the U.S. risks importing those same barriers for American patients and families navigating complex diagnoses. For people living with cancer and other chronic conditions, delays in access and fewer treatment options can have a devastating impact.

Learn more about the unintended consequences of MFN at fightchronicdisease.org/MFN.