Exactly. It is the government that hands out the patent in the first place. If we, as a society, don't wish to pay $1000 per pill, we can simply have our govern

Exactly. It is the government that hands out the patent in the first place. If we, as a society, don't wish to pay $1000 per pill, we can simply have our governments instate a precondition in granting a patent for a drug, that the government has the right to set a maximum price. Now, the interesting question is: if this were the case -- if acquiring a patent on a drug means that you agree to the government setting a maximum price -- would this drug have ever been developed in the first place?