Thursday, January 18, 2007

There is give and take on everything

It is often mentioned that we have the most advanced medical system in the world because there is a free market incentive to create effective care for patients. The down side has been cost and a lot of uninsured people. Here is another down side. This drug can't get funding, precisely because it can't be patented. If drug companies can't make money on it, then they don't bring it to market, no matter how promising the drug is. Makes sense, if you are the drug company. Why invest in something you cannot make money on? What if you are an agency responsible for promoting public health? What if you are the government? Should you get involved in promoting a drug that causes much "for profit research" to be moot?

No comments: