This post is a response to WindKiller's comment on my Compulsory Licenses: Brazil, Thailand Override Big Pharma Patents. I'm not sure if I should post a bibliography about this or not.
My inspiration for the original post was an article in the journal Science. I do not believe that journal is infallible. I do believe that journal provides enough pointers to its sources of information -- both pro and con -- that I can make a decision for myself regarding the validity of the information provided.
That offered up front...
Does pharma spend lots of money on R&D? Yes. Does pharma spend lots of money lobbying to get chemicals with distinct biologic signatures on the market? Yes. Does pharma spend lots of money coming up with names for pseudo-diseases with symptoms that match those biologic signatures then marketing those pseudo-diseases to an under-educated public so that they can then market the pseudo-cures? Yes.
All cards on the table department: Does pharma ask me how to improve the marketing of these pseudo-diseases and pseudo-cures? Yes. I'm part of the system I'm calling to task here.
I have this snake oil by the way. It'll cure anything. Provided the anything you want cured has these symptoms. And beware of the side effects. Many of which are what the chemical supposedly cures.
However, as tempting as the above is for starting a discussion, the point of the Compulsory Licenses: Brazil, Thailand Override Big Pharma Patents post was that there is a UN agreement in place giving countries the right to do what Brazil and Thailand have done. Agreeing to let something happen then demonstrating a negative response because it happened is like telling a child "It's your decision" then punishing them for making an unacceptable decision.
This discussion is actually coming at me at an excellent point in time. The core question (to me) is one of value and I'm having a challenge getting the axis to have a common point of intersection.
Which is greater? An individual's value to society or that individual's value to themself? This is a much studied problem in neuroscience and psychology, one with an as yet undefined solution.
Let me know if you're curious and I'll devote some columns to it.
Please contact NextStage for information regarding presentations and trainings on this and other topics.
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Upcoming Conferences:- DC Emetrics Summit on 14-17 Oct '07
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