This is Econ Talk, Conversations for the Curious. I'm Russ Roberts of Shalem College in Jerusalem and Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Our topic for today is the state of cancer research and pharmaceuticals based on an article from the Nye's sub stack page that we will link to. Go to econtalk.org where you can subscribe, comment on this episode, and find links down there related to today's conversation.
Oncologist and epidemiologist Vinay Prasad argues that too many very expensive drugs get approved by the FDA that have very limited impact on the lives of patients. Prasad explains the incentives that distort the current system. The general problem, he explains to EconTalk host Russ Roberts, is the death of duty--too many players in the health care landscape and elsewhere stay quiet or do the wrong thing in order to serve themselves.