I'm sure a lot of folks will pile in here about evil, etc. But I do appreciate the fact that some market incentives (profits) exist to encourage greedy companies to come out with new drugs. I fear lower innovation in its absence.
THAT SAID...obviously a big problem (like software) with the way we handle intellectual property. Just like IBM/x86, there's no philosophical reason why one shouldn't be able to derive a generic and produce it. That's the real issue. We issue "king's crown" (gov't) monopolies on these products. The ONLY advantage I am okay with is first mover advantage. Similar corollary to toll road and broadband concessions...stop protecting these giants and allow REAL PvP competition!
THAT SAID...obviously a big problem (like software) with the way we handle intellectual property. Just like IBM/x86, there's no philosophical reason why one shouldn't be able to derive a generic and produce it. That's the real issue. We issue "king's crown" (gov't) monopolies on these products. The ONLY advantage I am okay with is first mover advantage. Similar corollary to toll road and broadband concessions...stop protecting these giants and allow REAL PvP competition!