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THREAD: Woohoo, first guest post on @TOTMblog. Thanks to @geoffmanne for edits and publication. We& #39;ve got different views on the #patent issue, to be sure, but these are strange times... /1 https://truthonthemarket.com/2020/04/02/preventing-pandemic-profiteering/">https://truthonthemarket.com/2020/04/0...
As much as I rail against @PhRMA for their (ab)use of the patent system, let& #39;s make one thing clear: the long-run treatments and cures for this pandemic will come from pharmaceutical companies. This should make them the most revered industry in America. /2
But, as of last year (curious to see what more current survey data would look like) they were dead last. Behind fossil fuels, healthcare, airlines, tech, and the federal government itself. /3
A lot of this has to do with the opioid crisis, but drug prices are something we all feel. @PhRMA has had some interesting ad campaigns shifting blame for drug prices on insurance intermediaries (not wrong), but at the end of the day it& #39;s monopoly prices. /4
And the simple "patents are necessary to prevent free-riding" narrative becomes complicated when you consider thicketing, evergreening, and all sorts of other legal maneuvers researched by @IMAKglobal here. /5 https://www.i-mak.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/I-MAK-Overpatented-Overpriced-Report.pdf">https://www.i-mak.org/wp-conten...
And pharma companies, for all the good they do in bringing these drugs to market, don& #39;t start from zero in R&D. Government $ lays the groundwork (the R) and private $ brings it to market (the D). That& #39;s comparative advantage in action! /6
But, if taxpayers pay for the groundwork (they 100% should, information is the ultimate public good), why should they pay again when they pick up their prescriptions? @NIH has invested almost $700m in coronavirus research since 2002. @Public_Citizen /7 https://www.niskanencenter.org/niskanen-center-joins-public-citizen-in-appeal-for-affordable-coronavirus-vaccine/">https://www.niskanencenter.org/niskanen-...
In the case of a COVID19 vaccine/treatment, it& #39;s especially important that it& #39;s cheaply available for the same reason we& #39;re all #SocialDistancingNow: every person who& #39;s sick (or asymptomatic but positive) poses a threat to other people. /8
Lots of companies are doing their part. @GileadSciences (after public scrutiny) withdrew their application asking for orphan drug status from @US_FDA for remdesivir. /9
