4 ms·

It is true that the US pays for a significant portion of drug R&D for the world. However the vast majority of that R&D is funded by the NIH which in turn is fun

It is true that the US pays for a significant portion of drug R&D for the world. However the vast majority of that R&D is funded by the NIH which in turn is funded by U.S. taxpayers. It is a myth that it is the pharma companies who fund much of R&D even though they do spend some money on it. They set the prices so high because they can. The patents give them a monopoly, and they do everything in their power to "evergreen", or extend, the patents so they can continue their monopoly. One example is first patenting the left version of a molecule then patenting the right version (mirror image). How do they acquire these patents if they don't do their own R&D? They buy them.

rfinney 8y ago
Check: https://www.thebalance.com/who-funds-biomedical-research-2663193 https://www.thebalance.com/who-funds-biomedical-research-266... "In a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study published in January 2010, the largest study to date to attempt to quantify U.S. funding of biomedical research by the pharmaceutical industry, government, and private sources, researchers estimate that U.S. biomedical research currently stands at about over $100 billion annually. The pharmaceutical industry is the largest contributor towards funding research, funding over 60 percent. The government contributes to about a third of the costs, with foundations, advocacy organizations and individual donors responsible for the remaining investments."
autokad 8y ago
> "It is a myth that it is the pharma companies who fund much of R&D" I dont think that statement is incorrect. They spend a ton on r&d (20%), which is more than pretty much any other industry https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/060115/how-much-drug-companys-spending-allocated-research-and-development-average.asp https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/060115/how-much-dru...
tripzilch 8y ago
> One example is first patenting the left version of a molecule then patenting the right version (mirror image). Just a small correction for accuracy; they actually patent the 50/50 mixture of both versions first. And then they patent the purified version that only contains the active enantiomer ("mirror image"). Because of how biology works, turns out that the "wrong" mirror image (that is absent from the new version of the drug) was in fact really inactive, doesn't do anything, and thus offers no advantage over the old version, except being covered by a new patent to milk. These are the kind of drug research "advances" that the rest of the world is supposedly freeloading off of. It's not freeloading, it's being dominated by a multi-billion dollar global marketing budget.

rfinney 8y ago

Check: https://www.thebalance.com/who-funds-biomedical-research-2663193 https://www.thebalance.com/who-funds-biomedical-research-266... "In a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study published in January 2010, the largest study to date to attempt to quantify U.S. funding of biomedical research by the pharmaceutical industry, government, and private sources, researchers estimate that U.S. biomedical research currently stands at about over $100 billion annually. The pharmaceutical industry is the largest contributor towards funding research, funding over 60 percent. The government contributes to about a third of the costs, with foundations, advocacy organizations and individual donors responsible for the remaining investments."

autokad 8y ago

> "It is a myth that it is the pharma companies who fund much of R&D" I dont think that statement is incorrect. They spend a ton on r&d (20%), which is more than pretty much any other industry https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/060115/how-much-drug-companys-spending-allocated-research-and-development-average.asp https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/060115/how-much-dru...

tripzilch 8y ago

> One example is first patenting the left version of a molecule then patenting the right version (mirror image). Just a small correction for accuracy; they actually patent the 50/50 mixture of both versions first. And then they patent the purified version that only contains the active enantiomer ("mirror image"). Because of how biology works, turns out that the "wrong" mirror image (that is absent from the new version of the drug) was in fact really inactive, doesn't do anything, and thus offers no advantage over the old version, except being covered by a new patent to milk. These are the kind of drug research "advances" that the rest of the world is supposedly freeloading off of. It's not freeloading, it's being dominated by a multi-billion dollar global marketing budget.