For people of any age, the word “cancer” has carried dire connotations for generations. Until recently, that ominous sense of cancer as a killer was literally true, at least for many forms of the disease. And just 10 years ago, there were few treatments apart from the crude and devastating ones, such as chemotherapy and radiation.
But two important developments have changed that and today, according to a recent Associated Press report, we are on the brink of a revolution in the treatment of cancer. This will literally make cancer just another serious, but treatable, class of diseases.
Of the two biggest trends that have changed what’s going on in cancer research, one is scientific, and the other is financial. On the scientific front, finding treatments has become far more likely since researchers have mapped the human genome. In addition, other advances in biotechnology have pushed the limits of what medical science can do to detect and kill cancer cells.
On the financial front, more and more pharmaceutical and biotech companies have come to realize that any new cancer treatment is going to command a very high price and generate substantial revenue, since there is little competition in the field — so far. Any company that can stake a claim for actually curing a certain type of cancer is expected to have a long and lucrative run on its patent life. As a result, firms have poured billions into discovering the next blockbuster.
Some companies, such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, and AstraZeneca have long been involved in cancer research. Others, like Wyeth, Schering-Plough, GlaxoSmithKline, and Merck are more recent entrants in the “gold rush” for new treatments. Many have purchased smaller drug companies that are working on cancer cures. Others have licensing arrangements with them or have created their own specialized skunk works to investigate new therapies.
A prime example of this is Wyeth. A little more than two years ago, it created a research institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts aimed at the study of cancer and treatments for it. With this research facility, Wyeth scientists, freed from the corporate parent, can work at a faster pace and can collaborate with the rich academic community in the Boston area. Wyeth has 13 drugs in clinical development for the treatment of cancer, three times as many as the...
