I don’t want to pick a fight, but I googled that author, and he is literally a snake-oil salesman. He sells sham health products. He also seems to be an anti-vaxer and, according to RationalWiki, a "germ theory denialist." Can I recommend "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer" instead?
Surely we can all agree that for-profit drug companies are mis-incentivised without there needing to be a big conspiracy. It’s totally true that they love to squeeze as much profit out as they can. But don’t underestimate the prestige of curing something either. Also, a lot of medical research is not done by for-profit companies.
Part of the reason there hasn’t been a "cure for cancer," is that cancer is not one disease. It’s a group of over 100 diseases. And it’s not a foreign invader to your body. It’s the natural process of your own cells turned against you by mutation. That’s harder to fight.
We’ve made enormous strides against some cancers, but there isn’t likely to be a single "cure for cancer" soon. Maybe someday, with gene therapy or nanotech.
Why the Smithsonian? Because you could walk around it for a week and not see the whole thing.