3 ms·
Research is super expensive, and the low hanging fruits have been picked. There's no such thing as a cheap drug, unless that cost is subsidized. Also consider
by bad_user 6y ago
Research is super expensive, and the low hanging fruits have been picked. There's no such thing as a cheap drug, unless that cost is subsidized.
Also consider that the lifetime for drugs against viruses or other pathogens can be fairly short. Viruses that are a problem now, like SARS-Cov-2, might be a non-issue 3 years from now, or the vaccines we develop now might be ineffective against future strains.
Unless the government or non-profit organizations can promise grant money, in exchange for R&D, then patents are reasonable.
And note that 20 years is a very long time in IT, but not in Pharma. Many drugs developed 20+ years ago are just as good today.
- nabla9 6y ago> and the low hanging fruits have been picked Only the low hanging fruits that can be patented have been picket. Cheap paths are blocked by incentives. Between the size of typical government funding and patentable drug there is huge gap of few hundred millions. > There's no such thing as a cheap drug Existing molecular entities where the patent has expired are cheap. Besides, the it does not have to be new drug. Effective treatment can be something else.