> They can wait 7~10 years, no? Patents are not forever. For people with many illnesses it means death (literally, "forever"). For others, it means 7-10 years

> They can wait 7~10 years, no? Patents are not forever. For people with many illnesses it means death (literally, "forever"). For others, it means 7-10 years of suffering or debilitating illness. Regarding your other questions/points, I wonder if I misunderstand them because the answers are very well-known. Sorry if I'm missing something: > Is your theory that billions should be allocated (somehow) to researching a list of things that some people somewhere need with no prospect of recouping that expense? The enterprise of science has proceeded for centuries on exactly this basis, and society (via government) has funded it successfully. Much of what you benefit from now was funded by fellow citizens, past and present. > of the thousands of things that people think they need, which ones get priority? There is no definitive solution, of course, but this issue has long been addressesed by funding organizations such as the NSF, NIH, etc.