The framing is wrong. Pharma is (government-supported research) -> (pharma R&D + production + distribution) -> (government subsidized spending). - Big pharma

The framing is wrong. Pharma is (government-supported research) -> (pharma R&D + production + distribution) -> (government subsidized spending). - Big pharma should be praised for making profits. They spend too much R&D to circumvent each other's patents. Zero-sum game for the society as a whole. - The government should be faulted for not structuring the business-government interaction properly. Mandatory licensing with profit sharing for medical patents, for example. Ask any healthcare economist, medicine and healthcare has every possible market failure you can think of. You can't arrange it using free markets and marketing. The business must structured better. The US can look to other countries for guidance.