Tenchu's Thoughts: The People's Cure for the Coronavirus, Part IV
And here we go. As predicted, the drug Remdesivir, the one that Gilead pioneered and is showing some positive results in patients with the coronavirus, is now being targeted by the socialists and the communists of America:
Taxpayers paid to develop remdesivir but will have no say when Gilead sets price
First of all, let's get some facts on the table.
- Yes, government-funded research played a significant role in developing Remdesivir. A non-profit watchdog group estimates that the public investment amounted to a minimum of $70 million.
- No, government-funded scientists did NOT file any patents on their research which helped lead to Remdesivir. Although they certainly could have, government typically doesn't do so because it would harm the partnership they have with the pharma and biotech industries.
- The article did not mention how much Gilead paid to develop Remdesivir and test it, especially during the Ebola scare of 2014 when Remdesivir ended up being ineffective. One reason, besides the usual agenda-driven journalism at "Democracy Dies In Darkness," is that it's hard to quantify, given that Gilead has a huge portfolio of compounds that were developed for antiviral use. Should the costs of developing that portfolio count toward the cost to develop Remdesivir? If so, what portion of those costs?
- There is no word on how much Gilead plans to charge for a single patient's entire treatment of Remdesivir, but the article puts forth two estimates. One is from an independent organization that says Gilead would be justified in charging $4,500. The other is from advocates who say that Gilead should only charge $1, which is basically the marginal cost to manufacture each dose. (This is important to point out for reasons I'll mention later.)
"You didn't build that. Someone else did."
And now the politics.
There is a growing sentiment on the left that nothing is completely "privately developed." Elizabeth Warren became famous for saying that there is nobody in this country that got rich on their own. Barack Obama took that sentiment one step further and basically said to everyone who built something up from scratch, "You didn't build that." Bernie Sanders complained about the Trump administration giving Gilead exclusive rights to manufacture and sell Remdesivir, as I pointed out in Part I of The People's Cure for the Coronavirus.
And of course, China is blatantly copying Remdesivir, probably in hopes of selling it to other nations, especially those like Brazil that represent the current hotspots for COVID-19. China, of course, never respected the very concept of intellectual property, and has no qualms in taking inventions for the "good of the people."
This should alarm everyone who cares about continued innovation, especially in pharma and biotech, and especially in a new world where social distancing due to COVID-19 becomes the "new normal." Why?
Gilead is Making America Great Again
First of all, what other country comes close to what Gilead has in terms of antiviral medication? Like I said before, Gilead has a huge portfolio of antiviral medications, including:
- Truvada: This is so successful in preventing the spread of HIV that even the gay dating site Grindr lets their members inform others whether they are taking it (known as PReP).
- Biktarvy: If you already have HIV, this can reduce the prevalence of the virus and help you live much longer than without it.
- Tamiflu: This is one of the most well-known drugs that works against seasonal flu. Roche owns the licensing rights, but it was originally developed by Gilead.
No other nation comes close to having what Gilead has. Think about that the next time someone claims that the American health system is behind that of other industrialized nations.
Left-Wing Parasites
Second, I guarantee you that no one who thinks Remdesivir should "belong to the people" knows just how much work, how much money, how many failed attempts, and how much regulation goes into the development of a new drug.
All they do is wait around for something to show promise, then show up at the front door demanding their "fair share." They did not risk a damned thing.
Even the government, who funded some of the research that helped Remdesivir become a reality, did not risk anything. What, you want to tell me that the estimated $70M that the government spent on Remdesivir development represented a significant risk on their part? In an age where Congress is willing to print $3T of funny money just to pay people to stay home, $70M is but a droplet in the bucket.
Does the government compensate Gilead or other Big Pharma companies for drugs that have failed? Even Remdesivir was a failure when it came to Ebola. If not, then why should the government claim a share of the profits on successful drugs?
Besides, the government will already get a huge portion of the profits anyway thanks to taxes.
Roads are Socialist
Finally, the idea that anything and everything that the government touches becomes public property is complete bunk.
"buT buT yoU neeD roadS tO ruN youR businesS!"
Guess what? The construction and maintenance of roads should already be paid for by taxes. If the mere existence of roads entitles you to a share of what I make, then EVERYTHING should be owned by the government, right? Even a lemonade stand is the property of the government.
"buT buT withouT thE governmenT remdesiviR woulD neveR havE beeN inventeD!"
Yes, it is a partnership between the government and the private sector. The goal, of course, is to speed development of useful drugs and medications that will benefit society as a whole. And yes, both the public good and the profit motive apply in this partnership.
But now people are claiming that, if the government had a hand in any part of the research, the government should have a say in the pricing and the selling of the drug. And we're not even talking about a small portion of the profits, either. We're talking about forcing the company to sell at cost.
No mention of the fact that Gilead is spending a billion dollars or more to build factories, manufacture the drug, and distribute it to wherever it is most needed.
No mention of the fact that Gilead already spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing Remdesivir, and that the government's share of it is miniscule.
No mention of the danger that if you force Gilead to sell at cost, you will kill off all private pharmaceutical research in America, and that will destroy America's advantage in pharma and biotech.
There is no middle road when it comes to these "you didn't build that" socialists. The only thing that matters is what the people need. From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
The Role of Government-funded Research
Finally, what is the primary role of government-funded research?
As I mentioned before, it is to advance the public good and grease the skids for all other institutions, both public and private, to develop new technologies, new innovations, and new treatments. It's good for the nation, it's good for our national competitiveness, and it saves lives.
It also helps create jobs and foster an innovation economy that is second to none all across the world.
The ownership of patents, intellectual property, and what not is a complicated subject, and I think a good balance can be struck between the needs of the public and the benefits of profitability. But this can't happen when you have left-wing parasites just brashly jumping in and claiming a share of something they never developed.
And if you want to claim ownership of something that doesn't belong to you, and you want to justify yourself by saying that anything government touches should belong to the government, then move to China.
Tenchusatsu |
