Oh jeeze! Not that old nonsense again. How did drug companies recoup their costs before we had thirty year patents? They only got the long patent extension during the Bush years. Before that patents used to expire after 10 years. Patents do not spur innovation. They stifle it. Without patents there would be an explosion in medical inventions, including new drugs. The best way to address development costs is to let the market drive down development costs. Limit the FDA, not competition among drug companies.
BTW most actual research into new drugs is done by academic institutions at public expense. Drug company expenses occur mostly from navigating regulatory hurdles.
“BTW most actual research into new drugs is done by academic institutions at public expense. Drug company expenses occur mostly from navigating regulatory hurdles.”
I didn’t know that. Figures though. Big government intervention is stifling many other forms of business as well.
We are becoming more fascist daily, all behind the scenes from our representatives, with the EPA, OSHA, FERC, FDA, etc.