Is Biopharma Investing Too Much In Cancer R&D?

Jay Bradner is the president of Novartis’ Institutes for BioMedical Research, the organization entrusted with Novartis’ R&D budget of $9 billion - one of the largest in the industry. Furthermore, Novartis is a leading innovator in the oncology field with targeted therapies as well as the recently launched CAR-T therapy Kymriah for a deadly childhood leukemia. Given his important, influential role in the future of oncology research, one can’t ignore the question he asked in a self-described “soapbox moment”: “Can we as a society be over-invested in working to cure cancer?”