Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel’s prescription to cure high drug prices in “We Can’t Afford the Drugs That Could Cure Cancer” (Review, Sept. 22) sounds worse than the disease. Like Dr. Emanuel, I am appalled at the drug’s cost, though very grateful for the insurance that makes it possible for me. This is Schumpeter’s creative destruction at work, and it leads drug companies to charge heavily while they have the only game in town. For myself and for future generations, I want to see the present chaotic but productive system of drug development continue. If adopted, Dr. Emanuel’s system of bureaucratic control will lead to stagnation as drug developers focus more on pleasing bureaucrats than on saving patients.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 30, 2018 16:41 UTC