4 ms·
you're absolutely wrong. if you think finding out which molecule fights cancer cells vs kills you outright and how to produce it in controlled fashion is trivi
by pinaceae 10y ago
you're absolutely wrong.
if you think finding out which molecule fights cancer cells vs kills you outright and how to produce it in controlled fashion is trivial, you're a moron.
if you think creating genetically enginnered bacteria to produce insulin is trivial, you're an utter moron. lest you like injecting harvested
insulin from pigs or dead
humans.
HN likes to pride itself on techie knowledge, but the cluelessness around actual hard tech is staggering. modern medicine is up there with rocket science, worthy of nobel prizes.
they just CURED hep C for FUCKS SAKE. but yeah, no reward for that, but sharing catpics - here, have billions.
- fisherjeff 10y agoNobody's questioning whether these things are non-trivial or high-value. There are very legitimate questions to be asked, though, especially regarding patentability and profitability. There are many other fields with very high barriers to entry and which require very large R&D budgets, but which - unlike the prescription drug market - nonetheless manage to attract competitiors: The semiconductor industry, for example, comes to mind.
- pinaceae 10y agohardware is full of patents. your point? pharma is full of competitors. exactly because it rewards risk. the whole point of the system. and the patent cliff hits and generics and biosimilars take over.