Member-only story
Difficult-to-treat Cancers Part 2: Drug Discovery | The Doctor Weighs In
Getting a drug to market takes years of research and requires regulatory approval before it can be used to treat a disease. Learn about the process in this article.
Developing and bringing a drug to market takes years of research and human trials before it is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the US and by other regulatory agencies around the world. Cancer treatment is one of the top research areas for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. It has resulted in the improved prognosis for tens of thousands of cancer patients over the past few decades, including those diagnosed with difficult-to-treat cancers.[7]
For example, a review study published in 2017 found that the five-year survival rate for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had improved between the years of 1988 and 2008, due in large part to improved treatment options and better diagnosis.[8]
Survival Rate for NSCLC
According to the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) statistics, the 5-year survival rate for lung cancer patients has also improved over the past 40 years. The overall survival rate for patients with lung cancer has risen…
