5 ms·

Is this technique patentable? Would be quite nice if it were not...

londons_explore 6y ago
If it is not, it will encounter hurdles at every step, and probably never make it past initial trials. Nobody wants patent-free medicine except the public, and the public doesn't make decisions about drug safety...
- lm28469 6y ago
  > Nobody wants patent-free medicine except Except literally every single country on this planet because they all want to go out of lockdown and restart their economy
  - hcknwscommenter 6y ago
    I know it seems hard to believe, but (IMHO) the existence of a patent will in no way encumber (and will actually help) the production, distribution, and administration of this drug if it works. Entities that actually have expertise and capability in clinical development of such complicated biologics get through this process by burning billions of dollars. These billions are provided by investors who must have some reasonable chance at making a profit (or at least not losing a lot of money). Non-profit enterprises simply don't have the money or the expertise. The government has no expertise in the development path. The U.S. gov't (through the FDA) has vast amounts of expertise in analyzing clinical trial proposals and data, but not actually running them.
  - CameronNemo 6y ago
    Problem is that the benefits of license free medicine to society are diffuse, while the benefits of a licensing fee are concentrated. That makes lobbying and organization/cooperation much easier for the entity that is developing the medicine. The public is not as likely to organize their interests and establish a competent lobbying strategy. Just not enough in it for a single person for them to pay attention.
jcims 6y ago
I know it's a gross question but who would invest the money to get FDA approval for it? The better angels of our nature don't have a couple hundred million sitting around to throw at the process. Are there grants or funds for getting approval for development of medicines that aren't patentable?
- manmal 6y ago
  Are you forgetting about state funding?
  - wpasc 6y ago
    What's the history of a state fully funding a drug (not talking about basic research)? Has a government developed, tested, approved, and provided a medicine? genuinely curious, but you can't forget something that hasn't happened yet
    - manmal 6y ago
      I‘m not an expert on this, but it seems that penicillin was discovered and developed into a drug with public funding.
  - jcims 6y ago
    No. You may not have seen it but I edited my comment a few minutes after posting to mention grants. The FDA does have an orphan drug program that would seem to apply (if non-patentable) and could help fund clinical trials but I don’t know how much else of the process it will pay for.
  - NormenNomen 6y ago
    US constituent states cannot print money. This only makes sense at the federal level.
- CameronNemo 6y ago
  Are there not charities looking for solutions to address the pandemic? Such as the Gates Foundation? And does the drug approval process seriously cost $200 million. I imagine it is not cheap, but that number seems very high for such small trial groups and a highly motivated/cooperative regulatory agency.

If it is not, it will encounter hurdles at every step, and probably never make it past initial trials. Nobody wants patent-free medicine except the public, and the public doesn't make decisions about drug safety...

lm28469 6y ago
> Nobody wants patent-free medicine except Except literally every single country on this planet because they all want to go out of lockdown and restart their economy
- hcknwscommenter 6y ago
  I know it seems hard to believe, but (IMHO) the existence of a patent will in no way encumber (and will actually help) the production, distribution, and administration of this drug if it works. Entities that actually have expertise and capability in clinical development of such complicated biologics get through this process by burning billions of dollars. These billions are provided by investors who must have some reasonable chance at making a profit (or at least not losing a lot of money). Non-profit enterprises simply don't have the money or the expertise. The government has no expertise in the development path. The U.S. gov't (through the FDA) has vast amounts of expertise in analyzing clinical trial proposals and data, but not actually running them.
- CameronNemo 6y ago
  Problem is that the benefits of license free medicine to society are diffuse, while the benefits of a licensing fee are concentrated. That makes lobbying and organization/cooperation much easier for the entity that is developing the medicine. The public is not as likely to organize their interests and establish a competent lobbying strategy. Just not enough in it for a single person for them to pay attention.

jcims 6y ago

I know it's a gross question but who would invest the money to get FDA approval for it? The better angels of our nature don't have a couple hundred million sitting around to throw at the process. Are there grants or funds for getting approval for development of medicines that aren't patentable?

manmal 6y ago
Are you forgetting about state funding?
- wpasc 6y ago
  What's the history of a state fully funding a drug (not talking about basic research)? Has a government developed, tested, approved, and provided a medicine? genuinely curious, but you can't forget something that hasn't happened yet
  - manmal 6y ago
    I‘m not an expert on this, but it seems that penicillin was discovered and developed into a drug with public funding.
- jcims 6y ago
  No. You may not have seen it but I edited my comment a few minutes after posting to mention grants. The FDA does have an orphan drug program that would seem to apply (if non-patentable) and could help fund clinical trials but I don’t know how much else of the process it will pay for.
- NormenNomen 6y ago
  US constituent states cannot print money. This only makes sense at the federal level.
CameronNemo 6y ago
Are there not charities looking for solutions to address the pandemic? Such as the Gates Foundation? And does the drug approval process seriously cost $200 million. I imagine it is not cheap, but that number seems very high for such small trial groups and a highly motivated/cooperative regulatory agency.