"governments have two ways to promote the development of new drugs and can run both in parallel. First is by passing patent laws. The second way is by funding

"governments have two ways to promote the development of new drugs and can run both in parallel. First is by passing patent laws. The second way is by funding research in national laboratories." What if the government laboratories did their research under the direction of private business? This would reduce the risk of govt labs wandering into the wilderness, offload some of the risk from business, and could provide society with a stake and return in the outcome, expressed in lower prices or wider manufacturing rights or whatever.