Well, the international enforceability of US patents is already sketchy at best, and if the phamaceutical doesn't even have a patent at all, there's absolutely

Well, the international enforceability of US patents is already sketchy at best, and if the phamaceutical doesn't even have a patent at all, there's absolutely nothing stopping a company from producing and selling it in a country that doesn't have standards quite as tight as the FDA. Also, your comment > The company that invented it is forbidden from making money off a drug that is not approved raises another interesting issue. In the current system, a company CAN in fact make money off of such a drug, by selling the patent to someone else. Actually, many drug patents originate in universities, and then are sold to drug companies. I doubt the university lobby would be keen on losing that major revenue stream.