Aug 31 2010, 12:47 AM Mark H
Often the pharmaceutical companies are seen as evil because they do not do enough to help the poor by giving away medicines or licence rights. But we must consider two things: 1 they are commecial companies and have legal obligations towards their shareholders i.e. their prime concern is making money 2 these companies invest a vastly greater amount of money in R&D than the government. As a result their R&D occasionally finds cures inadvertently for other diseases - even if they are not actively trying to create the right medicine. So how do you create an incentive for the most effective creator of new innovative cures whose primary goal is to make money (like all companies)? Well the answer seems obvious - reward them with tax benefits that would help push them above their competitors. Whilst you could argue that this would prevent the government from reaping the benefits (tax) you could also say that the competition created would drive innovation and spending in the private sector which would improve the economy. A win win win situation - pharmaceuticals, government, developing countries!