> private pharma would unlikely survive today without that core research being done for free I tend to view private pharma, as it exists today, as a leech on s

> private pharma would unlikely survive today without that core research being done for free I tend to view private pharma, as it exists today, as a leech on society, at best. Perhaps destroying it and making it pay it's own way entirely would be for the best. Yes, in the past, private companies did real work and it was beneficial. But, mostly, they seem to invent cures for problems that get blown way out of proportion thru marketing directly to the public (restless leg syndrome? really?). At a minimum, let doctors become the filter thru which medicine is prescribed, and put a very heavy penalty in place for pay-to-subscribe.