A joint study between Yale University, King’s College Hospital in London and Doctors Without Borders found a single shot could be made for just 89 cents.
True, but drugs do require some lengthy and expensive R&D.
Starting by isolating a target function, testing thousands of compounds in vitro, hundreds on mice, maybe a dozen on chimps, soldiers, or some minority… until human trials get approved, which normally take several years, until a drug gets approved for sale… then depending on how popular it becomes, sales may end up being larger or smaller.
Completely forbidding patents on drugs (AKA: government-allowed time-limited paid monopolies), would wipe out all private investors in that research.
Should all drug research be 100% government funded? That’s how you get corruptionlobbying.
Should the FDA controls —already not so tight— be removed? That’s how you get snake oil salesmen (homeopathy, crystals, “praying it away”, random herbal remedies, drugs cut with talcum, etc.).
If we still want the drugs to be developed, and be sold with a minimum of guarantees, the only reasonable solutions that come to mind, go through some sort of government intervention in pricing.
US states should probably set a price limit based on median income, like from Puerto Rico’s $20K/yr, to District of Columbia’s $80K/yr:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_median_wage_and_mean_wage
Price limits and such are fine but you can’t beat generics for putting pressure on price.
True, but drugs do require some lengthy and expensive R&D.
Starting by isolating a target function, testing thousands of compounds in vitro, hundreds on mice, maybe a dozen on chimps,
soldiers, orsome minority… until human trials get approved, which normally take several years, until a drug gets approved for sale… then depending on how popular it becomes, sales may end up being larger or smaller.Completely forbidding patents on drugs (AKA: government-allowed time-limited paid monopolies), would wipe out all private investors in that research.
Should all drug research be 100% government funded? That’s how you get
corruptionlobbying.Should the FDA controls —already not so tight— be removed? That’s how you get snake oil salesmen (homeopathy, crystals, “praying it away”, random herbal remedies, drugs cut with talcum, etc.).
If we still want the drugs to be developed, and be sold with a minimum of guarantees, the only reasonable solutions that come to mind, go through some sort of government intervention in pricing.