Cheap drugs vs. Newer and better drugs — this seems to be the equation world governments are facing.
If drug companies are to invest huge sums of money (over many years) in researching and developing new treatments and new medications, they need to know they will have a return on their investment. However, in order to accumulate this ROI, they’re using patent laws that prohibit the introduction of cheap generic variants into the market.
Their argument goes as follows: “After we’ve spent years and millions of dollars in developing this formula, we can’t allow a third-party to come along and sell it themselves. This would severely cut our revenues; not to mention we wouldn’t have enough funds in order to research other new medications.”
It’s a valid argument… until it comes down to people not purchasing necessary medication due to its lofty price.
IMHO, local governments must intervene either by sponsoring the research process, or by subsidizing the patented drugs.
Photo by bitzi
P.S.
Perhaps one day we will witness a form of R&D (Research and Development) that is “Open Source” and collaborative.
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