General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: this is the pill that cures Hepatitis C. This is that pill on big Pharma [View all]alain2112
(25 posts)I say that we would all benefit from a public utility style organisation that develops medicines and devices and techniques on a social benefit basis, leaving the private firms to go after their blockbuster billion dollar pills as they please.
Also, I would like to see more appropriate licensing of the results coming out of the publicly funded basis research that drives drug development in the first place. Not just a matter of fees but of exclusivity - a patent, the legal tool that enables these very high price levels, is a government enforced monopoly and we as a nation have the right to insist that this monopoly be used in a socially responsible manner.
Also also, the typical individual in America is not much affected by the list prices on drugs: this is really about the Clash of Titans between the drug companies on one side and the insurance companies on the other with the courts and the various government agencies caught in the middle. I say that this is exactly backwards: any company that is big enough and powerful enough to pressure and dominate an arm of the people's will is too big for the public good and needs to be scaled back. TBTF is most obvious in the financial sector, but the problem is not confined to the financial sector.