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This is concerning because it is clear that we’ll need more and better vaccines (and new antibiotics) in the years to come. The impact of every mosquito borne

This is concerning because it is clear that we’ll need more and better vaccines (and new antibiotics) in the years to come. The impact of every mosquito borne disease entering and re-entering North America, along with the already surging cases of tick borne illness means pretty soon the United States will either be afraid to go outside or considerably worse off than people even realize. The nCOV outbreak is just the latest in an ongoing string of pandemics that modern air travel brings along with its benefits. Renewed funding heavy vaccine and antibiotic development would save millions in the US and abroad, sooner than we think.

RobRivera 7y ago
I strongly agree that this matter really is a matter of funding priorities. Regardless how it is funded, taxpayer dollars or medical costs, this should be funded for the benefit of society. And as far as I can tell, Pharma cos stand to make some solid revenue from this, so lets get the risk/reward commensurate with the value society gains from this line of work.
- WhompingWindows 7y ago
  How do you wager Pharma makes good revenue from this? Compared to a chronically used drug like a statin, they DON'T stand to gain that much. It's a tragedy of the commons...any one company or nation could invest heavily, but it's a vaccine...therefore, it'll be widely disseminated once and it'll be cheap. It won't be taken years on end like a statin: MUCH less revenue; I'm not sure pharma would be interested without great incentives.
  - s1artibartfast 7y ago
    furthermore, I think there is a decent amount of abandoned IP from antibiotic companies that folded. I don't think anyone has found it viable to even manufacture them at a profit.
    - ufmace 7y ago
      There probably is, but have any of them been approved for commercial sale? That's the bottleneck that controls the industry. Creating a new antibiotic that might work is not that expensive, relatively speaking. Neither is manufacturing at scale. Proving that it's safe and effective to the current standards is extremely expensive, and risky - you get nothing at all if it eventually proves not to be effective enough.
      - s1artibartfast 7y ago
        There are examples linked elsewhere in this thread of novel antibiotic companies with FDA approval declaring bankruptcy due to lack of revenue. We intentionally want to limit the use of novel antibiotics to as few cases as possible to minimize resistance. Combined with price controls, this kills the economic viability.

RobRivera 7y ago

I strongly agree that this matter really is a matter of funding priorities. Regardless how it is funded, taxpayer dollars or medical costs, this should be funded for the benefit of society. And as far as I can tell, Pharma cos stand to make some solid revenue from this, so lets get the risk/reward commensurate with the value society gains from this line of work.

WhompingWindows 7y ago
How do you wager Pharma makes good revenue from this? Compared to a chronically used drug like a statin, they DON'T stand to gain that much. It's a tragedy of the commons...any one company or nation could invest heavily, but it's a vaccine...therefore, it'll be widely disseminated once and it'll be cheap. It won't be taken years on end like a statin: MUCH less revenue; I'm not sure pharma would be interested without great incentives.
- s1artibartfast 7y ago
  furthermore, I think there is a decent amount of abandoned IP from antibiotic companies that folded. I don't think anyone has found it viable to even manufacture them at a profit.
  - ufmace 7y ago
    There probably is, but have any of them been approved for commercial sale? That's the bottleneck that controls the industry. Creating a new antibiotic that might work is not that expensive, relatively speaking. Neither is manufacturing at scale. Proving that it's safe and effective to the current standards is extremely expensive, and risky - you get nothing at all if it eventually proves not to be effective enough.
    - s1artibartfast 7y ago
      There are examples linked elsewhere in this thread of novel antibiotic companies with FDA approval declaring bankruptcy due to lack of revenue. We intentionally want to limit the use of novel antibiotics to as few cases as possible to minimize resistance. Combined with price controls, this kills the economic viability.