The moral dilemma is profiting from disease and the ill-health of a population.
The only argument against publicly funded drug production is that profit seeking is more efficient and the societal outcome is improved by not funding a public body to do this.
As other comments highlight, not only do societies publicly fund research (eg C19), they provide a legal system that protects monopoly profits, and won’t use single-payer bargaining on price…
So when pharmaceuticals then drop more cash on executives and shareholders it’s natural to question turning Covid19, cancer, or obesity etc into a profit centre for the wealthiest in society
The only argument against publicly funded drug production is that profit seeking is more efficient and the societal outcome is improved by not funding a public body to do this.
As other comments highlight, not only do societies publicly fund research (eg C19), they provide a legal system that protects monopoly profits, and won’t use single-payer bargaining on price…
So when pharmaceuticals then drop more cash on executives and shareholders it’s natural to question turning Covid19, cancer, or obesity etc into a profit centre for the wealthiest in society