3 ms·
Taxes do pay for pharmaceutical research though private funding makes up the majority of the funding. For example, NIH, DoD and CDC all provide funding. NIH ha
by firesteelrain 2y ago
Taxes do pay for pharmaceutical research though private funding makes up the majority of the funding. For example, NIH, DoD and CDC all provide funding.
NIH has an annual budget of $45 billion - all taxes.
[1] https://www.nih.gov/grants-funding https://www.nih.gov/grants-funding
[2] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2775400 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2775400
- lotsofpulp 2y agoThen why do legislators not finish funding the "minority" of the funding? The clinical trials are the most expensive and risky part. There is a reason the US government (and other governments) step away at that point.
- firesteelrain 2y agoWell think about it. You are asking for nationalization of drug research and production. Clinical trials are expensive and private companies specialize in the later stages. There is also the idea of shared risk. Government does not want to take on the entire risk
- lotsofpulp 2y agoI don’t get what point you are trying to make. If the people of a country want the lowest prices for medicine, they can pay for them via taxes, and that includes clinical trials. Then there would be no middleman with a patent to collect profit. If taxpayers do not want the risk, then of course they will have to compensate businesses to take the risk. And there is no “nationalizing”. The government paying for clinical trials and FDA approval does not preclude pharmaceutical businesses from doing the same.
- firesteelrain 2y agoI’ll repeat again: USG does not want to take on the risk and Congress will not fund the full cost. USG does not want to be in the drug production business either.