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The original discoverer of Insulin refused to collect patents on the drug due to the vital role the drug played in saving lives. He would be ashamed of this.
@freemo That's indeed shameful.
And it's an essential, life saving drug. Huge profit motive, and the companies are getting away with it.
@design_RG I'm not sure the companies are to blame, the profit ultimately is what pays for the drug research in the first place. If they didnt have the potential to make a large profit they probably wouldnt put the risk into developing hte drugs in the first place.
Sadly I dont have an easy solution for this other than to have drug research driven more by charity and govt funding.
@freemo Insulin has been around for many years, I am assuming this product hasn't changed its composition over these 10 years? And yet the price sky rocketed.
American trade negotiators have demanded higher patent protection as part of some of their agreements negotiations. UK people are already expecting some of that when they get to the table with US after a Brexit.
There needs to be profit enough to refund big upfront costs in R&D, and especially the testing phase and approval.
Excessive profiting is non-ethical though.
@design_RG @freemo this topic has a lot to do with patents and Congress continuing to allow them. There's good info out there on what is causing a lot of these issues.
If we moderate the medical market we're evil socialist demon monsters. People are dying, but corporate profits sure aren't!
@design_RG @freemo insulin costs have tripled in the last decade. No generics are available due to decisions made by politicians.
