Prescription Drug Bill Overlooks Cost of Foregone Innovation

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration approved a breakthrough new treatment for cystic fibrosis, which affects about 30,000 Americans. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation calls the new drug, Trikafta, "the single greatest therapeutic advancement in the history of CF." It can turn the devastating disease into a manageable chronic condition like diabetes. CF patients who were previously winded by a walk down the hall are now running five-kilometer races on this drug. Traditionally dead by about 40, they can now plan for retirement.

Roughly 30 million other Americans afflicted by rare diseases are waiting for their Trikafta moment. Recent drug development history suggests their blind hope should give way to cautious optimism. Since the Orphan Drug Act passed in 1983, the FDA has approved more than 770 new medications, and there's 560 more in development.