3 ms·

I don't think it's just to lump pharm behaviors under profiteering. Certainly some goes on, but that they can charge a high price is the reason some of these re

I don't think it's just to lump pharm behaviors under profiteering. Certainly some goes on, but that they can charge a high price is the reason some of these revolutionary medicines were developed in the first place. If R&D doesn't pay itself back, companies won't do it, and humanity is the poorer for it. Any sort of two tiered approach encourages people to cheat the system. I agree it's a tough problem, and we probably haven't found the optimal balance.

ericd 13y ago
Perhaps we could step up government funded drug research, and the government could license it to every drug company? We all benefit from curing these chronic diseases, and the current model isn't exactly a model of efficiency.
- rational_indian 13y ago
  government = corrupt body = money sink
  - ericd 13y ago
    To clarify, I was saying that the US govt. should play a bigger role in drug R&D, not the Indian govt (though maybe they should too). US government research money largely goes to research scientists at universities in the form of research grants, so it's not really the government performing the research and spending the money. I wouldn't say the university research departments are money corrupt money sinks. They could also license the fruits of the research to drug companies in other countries for a nominal fee (or free) as a form of humanitarian aid.
    - rational_indian 13y ago
      I guess you can safely ignore my comment then :)
yodsanklai 13y ago
"If R&D doesn't pay itself back, companies won't do it, and humanity is the poorer for it." There's also the option of public research.
girvo 13y ago
See, yeah, I totally get that. But, these are peoples lives were talking about, and considering marketing is 20x what is spent on R&D... The system we have is the best we've got, I'll admit. I can't think of a better way personally, but that still sucks IMO :(
- gaius 13y ago
  I see where you're coming from, but there are lots of things you could put in that category: food, water, warm clothes, energy for heating and cooking, etc etc. Should no-one working in any of these industries be entitled to no more than minimum wage? I think most people would say no, and I think most people would agree that the profit motive has made all of these industries more efficient, e.g. there were and are famines in countries where farmers can't make a profit, but very few in the West.
betterunix 13y ago
Why do companies have to pay for R&D? Other fields of science and medicine are paid for with grant money from the government. Let the government pay for pharma research and let a competitive market sell the products of that research without patents or other such nonsense.

ericd 13y ago

Perhaps we could step up government funded drug research, and the government could license it to every drug company? We all benefit from curing these chronic diseases, and the current model isn't exactly a model of efficiency.

rational_indian 13y ago
government = corrupt body = money sink
- ericd 13y ago
  To clarify, I was saying that the US govt. should play a bigger role in drug R&D, not the Indian govt (though maybe they should too). US government research money largely goes to research scientists at universities in the form of research grants, so it's not really the government performing the research and spending the money. I wouldn't say the university research departments are money corrupt money sinks. They could also license the fruits of the research to drug companies in other countries for a nominal fee (or free) as a form of humanitarian aid.
  - rational_indian 13y ago
    I guess you can safely ignore my comment then :)

yodsanklai 13y ago

"If R&D doesn't pay itself back, companies won't do it, and humanity is the poorer for it." There's also the option of public research.

girvo 13y ago

See, yeah, I totally get that. But, these are peoples lives were talking about, and considering marketing is 20x what is spent on R&D... The system we have is the best we've got, I'll admit. I can't think of a better way personally, but that still sucks IMO :(

gaius 13y ago
I see where you're coming from, but there are lots of things you could put in that category: food, water, warm clothes, energy for heating and cooking, etc etc. Should no-one working in any of these industries be entitled to no more than minimum wage? I think most people would say no, and I think most people would agree that the profit motive has made all of these industries more efficient, e.g. there were and are famines in countries where farmers can't make a profit, but very few in the West.

betterunix 13y ago

Why do companies have to pay for R&D? Other fields of science and medicine are paid for with grant money from the government. Let the government pay for pharma research and let a competitive market sell the products of that research without patents or other such nonsense.