The Cancer Support Community supports H.R.1492/S.842, the Ensuring Pathways to Innovative Cures (EPIC) Act, a bipartisan bill that would ensure patients don’t lose access to life-saving and life-enhancing small molecule drugs (SMDs) — many of which come in the form of pills. This legislation fixes the Inflation Reduction Act’s “pill penalty,” ensuring continued investment in research & development for innovative cancer treatment in pill form.
Access to treatment in pill form is especially important for cancer patients, as it allows them to take their medication at home, provides more flexibility, and can be more affordable and better tolerated than other alternative forms of treatment such as infusions at a medical clinic.
Under current law, small molecule drugs (pills) are subject to price negotiations earlier than large molecule drugs (injectables and infusions), giving manufacturers less time to recover the cost of development, disincentivizing innovation of new pills. The EPIC Act would remove this disincentive, paving the way for patients to continue receiving access to innovative cancer treatments in pill form.
Take action today to support innovation and access to cancer treatment in pill form.
