December 21, 2006
Patents Are Killing You
So say the would-be thieves.
A report by the General Accounting Office concludes that current patent law discourages drug companies from developing new drugs by allowing them to make excessive profits through minor changes to existing pharmaceuticals. While pharmaceutical research and development expenses have increased by 147% since 1993, applications for approval of "new molecular entity" (NME) drugs, or drugs which differ significantly from others already on the market, have risen only 7%. According to the report, the majority of newly developed medicines are so-called "me-too" drugs, which are substantially similar to existing drugs, are less risky than NMEs drugs to develop, and which "offer little in the way of therapeutic breakthroughs."
Pharmaceuticals
Posted by AlexC at December 21, 2006 4:38 PM
I have read very intelligent commentary on both sides of this issue and I am torn. I've long railed on these pages to allow pharmaceutical firms to make profits. Yet a compelling and nuanced case can be made that Patents ultimately hamper discovery.
Of course, you'll hear no such nuance from Senator Dick Durban, who cannot wait to wave his new gavel at drug companies:
"Commenting on the report, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that existing patent law allows drug companies to drive up their profits at the expense of patients needing innovative treatments. 'The findings in this new GAO report,' said Senator Durbin, 'raise serious questions about the pharmaceutical industry claims that there is a connection between new drug development and the soaring price of drugs already on the market. Most troubling is the notion that pharmaceutical industry profits are coming at the expense of consumers in the form of higher prices and fewer new drugs.'"
I fear for the Republic and its inhabitants...
I have read very intelligent commentary on both sides of this issue and I am torn. I've long railed on these pages to allow pharmaceutical firms to make profits. Yet a compelling and nuanced case can be made that Patents ultimately hamper discovery.
Of course, you'll hear no such nuance from Senator Dick Durban, who cannot wait to wave his new gavel at drug companies:
"Commenting on the report, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that existing patent law allows drug companies to drive up their profits at the expense of patients needing innovative treatments. 'The findings in this new GAO report,' said Senator Durbin, 'raise serious questions about the pharmaceutical industry claims that there is a connection between new drug development and the soaring price of drugs already on the market. Most troubling is the notion that pharmaceutical industry profits are coming at the expense of consumers in the form of higher prices and fewer new drugs.'"
I fear for the Republic and its inhabitants...
Posted by: jk at December 21, 2006 5:36 PM | What do you think? [1]