Despite warnings, American and European officials gave up leverage that could have guaranteed access for billions of people. That risks prolonging the pandemic.
At present, the U.S.—along with other wealthy nations where major pharmaceutical companies are based—is blocking India and South Africa's push for a patent waiver, which industry lobbying groups are mobilizing to crush.
The myth is that pharmaceutical industry profits come from producing and selling the many therapeutic advances that industry research has generated, but the reality is far different.
The battle over marijuana's legal status and will have consequences for the prospect of cannabis-derived drugs
My proposed solution to the EpiPen mess follows this line of thought: essentially, bust the damn patent. Or, at least, the US government should threaten to bust the patent, and we should then watch the price fall faster than you can jab yourself in the thigh with an adrenaline-filled pen.
Can we conquer disease without concentrating wealth in a precious few pockets? Not-so-distant history offers a clear and encouraging answer.
An early expression of democracy, the US patent system is out of step with today’s citizens.
Not only do patents push higher prices onto consumers, they burden the research world with the increased costs of paying for the intellectual property needed to do further research . . . If anything, the neoliberal approach to academic research is a return to the privately funded, pre-tenure origins of the university system when numerous schools were simply research labs and promotional arms for private industry
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