I think an interesting solution to consider is a sort of drug bounty program run by the government. Right now, companies put up their own capital to fund drugs,

I think an interesting solution to consider is a sort of drug bounty program run by the government. Right now, companies put up their own capital to fund drugs, and get a big payout (via patent exclusivity) if they succeed. This is a bit problematic, because regardless of the expense of the cost to develop the drug, it is in the interest of the drug companies to charge as much as possible for the longest amount of time to maximize return on investment (personally why I think there are so many long-term treatments for diseases like HIV rather than full-on vaccines). But if the government were to say “we will give $X billion to the corporation that provides a drug that meets Y conditions, with the caveat that that drug will then be sold for $Z per course of treatment or immediately go generic”, then public health policy could direct certain aspects of drug discovery, and lead to more affordable outcomes. There are still issues with this sort of plan, but I think it has the potential to be workable.