The business of hope - New cancer drugs

Pharmaceutical cancer research is in full swing. New products are constantly entering the market, promising patients longer and more pain-free lives. Others even hold out the prospect of a cure. Many of these treatments come to the market via an accelerated process. Often, they are accompanied by talk of major breakthroughs and new strategies: Targeted hormone therapy, antibody therapy, gene therapy. Spending on cancer drugs has risen by more than 50 percent in recent years - to more than 8.6 billion Euros in 2019. It’s a profitable market for the pharmaceutical industry. But survival rates are not increasing as much as hoped. "We are in a situation where we have more and more fast-tracked drugs with less and less certainty about the actual benefit. And we're in a situation where we're spending a lot of money on them," says Prof. Wolf-Dieter Ludwig, Chairman of the German Medical Association’s Drug Commission. So, what is really known about the new cancer drugs? Their side-effects, benefits and potential harm they may cause? How well-researched are they before they come to market? Who controls their usage in practice? This documentary looks for answers.