FACT BRIEF

Is the pharmaceutical industry oriented towards treating diseases instead of preventing them?

Friday, October 23, 2020

By Esther Tsvayg

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YES

The pharmaceutical industry in recent decades has been better incentivized to develop treatments rather than preventative drugs, reflecting the structure of public and private health-insurance payments and other market factors.

The vaccine market reflects these influences. Vaccine research, development, testing and manufacturing is expensive—but because vaccines are typically needed just once the potential revenue is much smaller than for therapeutic drugs. To overcome these factors and accelerate development of a vaccine against the coronavirus, the U.S. government has set aside up to $18 billion.

An Oxford-affiliated journal noted in 2002 that pharmaceutical companies are incentivized to develop drugs to treat more advanced cancers, not prevent them at early stages. Companies aren't sure how preventative treatments would be evaluated and approved, or how they would market them.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

National Library of Medicine: Drug versus vaccine investment—comparing economic incentives

HealthAffairs: Why are pharmaceutical companies gradually abandoning vaccines?

Bloomberg: Trump administration dips into protective gear, CDC funds to fund vaccine push

Oxford University Press: Journal of the National Cancer Institute—Investing in prevention

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