India, May 19 -- The US spends more on health care than any other country, pouring in hundreds of billions of dollars each year on research, sprawling government programmes, and high-profile initiatives. But what does it have to show for this massive investment? Skyrocketing costs, deep inequalities in access, and health outcomes that lag many developed nations. Both its medical and research systems have grown bloated and inefficient, increasingly disconnected from the real needs of patients.

The US Cancer Moonshot is a textbook example of this dysfunction. Launched by President Barack Obama in 2016, with Vice President Joe Biden championing it, the programme promised to transform cancer care - accelerating research, delivering new treat...