Patents on life-saving drugs should be bypassed

The current patent system is flawed to its very core. Under the status quo pharmaceutical firms make use of research from state-funded university labs, that has been released into the public domain, to base their own research programs. They usually enter late in the process when there already is a possible product in sight. Once a product is completed it is patented for the sole use of the company for a period of 20 years. This 20 year monopoly is rigidly enforced by both domestic & international law across the world.

Devastating problems arise with this because the high prices charged by these firms to maximize their profit are too expensive for those in developing countries, and even in some developed countries that lack proper social security institutions, resulting in millions of unnecessary deaths. The current system suppresses innovation by placing legal hurdles to further researching and improving existing drugs. It also incentivizes spending on non-life threatening diseases common in the West (such as hair loss)and therefore bring in more revenue than those focused on poorer countries that can’t afford to spend as much on medication.

Therefore, we propose a plan set out by Economics Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz where an international multi-billion dollar fund would be set up to award scientists and firms once they discover or develop cures to life-saving diseases. This would aim to cover research costs but also incentivize research into life-threatening diseases over other ailments. Once payment is made the product is pooled into the public domain, available for use by any company anywhere in the world. While this would be expensive (0.6% GDP) it would pay-off in the medium term as health care systems would no longer have to pay huge premiums to drug companies. More importantly, it would allow for millions to afford medicines[[http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-the-hidden-truth-behind-drug-company-profits.html]]

Health Activist at UNGASS
It is obscene that corporations can be given patents to make monopoly profits at the expense of .. lives. Something has to give. And that something should be the patent regime, and not those hundreds of millions of lives


Pharmaceutical companies are undeniably driven by profit. They use patents to secure monopolies, thus enabling them to charge as high a price as they can which be afforded by a sizable market segment, the west. However, these prices are prohibitively expensive for poorer countries and thus profits made by patents often come at the expense of millions of lives.

In the poor world, the patenting system every day puts medicines beyond the reach of sick people. In 2001, 40 pharmaceutical giants took the South African government to court because they wanted it to stop producing generic copies of an AIDS drug, just as effective, for $100 a year to save their dying citizens.They were demanding it pays the full $10,000 a year to buy the branded version – or nothing. The companies claimed that the trial was not about “denying accessibility” of the medicines to those who need it but that it is about the rule of law. But what use is this when 4.2 million South Africans who are afflicted with Aids will suffer or die?[[http://www.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119675.html%5D%5D

When in 1996,HAART, a therapy that delays the onset of AIDS became available, death rates fell by 84% in rich countries. One would assume that soon after, people in developing countries would benefit from the miraculous drug too, yet only 8,000 people in Sub Saharan Africa were able to afford it by 2001.

The numbers are not getting better. By 2030, it is estimated 50 million people will need new drugs, which are currently prohibitively expensive, to stay alive. What do we do? Follow our plan and bypass patents. After the company develops a cure and gets the prize, any company will be allowed to make the drug for those in n

Joseph Stiglitz
“Research needs money, but the current system results in limited funds being spent in the wrong way.”

The status quo allows the market to decide which drugs are worth researching on the basis of maximising profits. One of the main arguments raised by opponents of this measure concerns the necessity of incentives to motivate firms to invest resources. Diseases that affect those in the West get more attention than the killing diseases that affect millions predominantly in the developing world because the West is a richer market that can be “milked” for much more profit than life-saving drugs can offer. [[http://www.naturalnews.com/020345.html]] Research into life-saving drugs is under provided in the commercial sector and as a result “far from being a font of innovation, the drug market has become “stagnant” [when it comes to life-saving drugs]”[[http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-the-hidden-truth-behind-drug-company-profits-1767257.html]]. Firms are motivated to “squander a fortune developing medicines that do exactly the same job as a drug that already exists, but has one molecule different, so they can take out a new patent, and get [more] profits.” [[Ibid.]] The existing system of drug manufacturing is not one that encourages innovation but one that stifles it. The focus is not on providing new, better medication for life-saving diseases but on making profits and profits and profits at the detriment of good medicine.

Our plan would incentivise the research and development of life-saving drugs by awarding sizeable prizes to both cover (together with revenue from drug sales) the cost of production and incentivize research specifically into life-saving medication. As opposed to the current winner takes it all system where the one firm who completes the product gets all the profits we would encourage cooperation by rewarding all firms involved in making a new drug, thus embracing i

Dr Marcia Angell (former editor of New England Journal of Medicine)
Only 14 per cent of budgets go on developing drugs.

The case for the granting of patents is that the resulting profits are necessary to finance the expensive process of R&D. These artificial monopolies, however, have proved very inefficient. “The FDA estimates it costs over 7 million dollars to bring a new drug to market pharmaceutical companies put that figure closer to 70 million dollars.” [[http://www.naturalnews.com/020345.html]] This disparity shows R&D is a relatively minor financial concern. “The pharmaceutical industry spends nearly U.S. $57.5 billion on marketing and U.S. $31.5 billion on R&D” [[http://www.naturalnews.com/022698.html]]. The main concern of pharmaceuticals is not the cost of research and development but advertising to compete with other firms and create a market for its product. This is not necessary for life-saving drugs; you may need advertising to be convinced to buy a skin care product but you hardly need convincing to purchase a HIV drug that will save your life.

Apart from need-instilling publicity pharmaceuticals spend fortunes ensuring their profits are not compromised by legislation. “Drug companies spent more than $3bn on lobbyists and political “contributions” over the past decade in the US alone.”[[http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-the-hidden-truth-behind-drug-company-profits-1767257.html]]. The vast majority of the profits pharmaceuticals get allegedly to facilitate R&D, go to publicity and lobbying.

Our plan would end this ridiculous waste. It would subsidize and reward success and tangible improvements in vaccines that can save lives; it would pay for the R&D with none of the frills. This is further evidence of the viability of this proposal, with cheaper R&D and patent-free drugs health care systems across the world would save billions in addition to those saved by the absence of premi

Its such a shame that even the bright minds of New Zealand are so subdued to the immorality of the current system. The practice of patents promotes the concept that the production of life- saving drugs is a multi-million dollar business and nothing else. We, the proposition, believe that human life is sacred and cannot be measured out by twenty year monopolies for huge financial gain. The opp claims, “Firstly, goods and services demanded by the West will always be more profitable .. We don’t force Apple to produce food parcels for Africa instead of iPods for the West”. Goods demanded by west might be more profitable but we draw the line when this ‘good’ is medicine. It’s sad we need to clarify the difference between an ipod and human life. An ipod is a luxury, human life is a right and a right for everyone, not just the rich.

The proposition understands that the drug industry is in some ways, driven by profit.R&D is costly, but this is why instead of having exclusivity of a drug, which prevents cheaper generics to be sold, we are offering them a huge prize for finding a cure!This way they are awarded and other pharmaceutical companies can develop the same drug cheaply to prevent the premature deaths of millions who can’t afford brand drugs.

But opp has failed to understand that the incentives for coming up with such a revolutionary product, is not just monetary. Money matters, but the main purposes of science is to save human life! Altruism still exists in the academic world of science. When Jonas Salle was asked why he had not patented his discovery of the polio vaccine, he said “it would be like patenting the sun”.

The current patent system on potentially life-saving drugs by pharmaceutical giants is ‘morally unacceptable’.Our plan, which provides both monetary incentive to companies and allows the development of generic drugs, is realistic, ethical and will save millions of innocent lives. [[medicineshttp//www.physorg.com/print13548519.html]]

This debate has come down to three main problems in the status quo and how our plan adresses them.

Our plan saves lives. Under the status quo millions lack access to available due to their high cost. The oppositions main reply to this was to draw parallels between life saving drugs and i-pods: “We don’t force Apple to produce food parcels for Africa instead of iPods for the West”. Apart from the fact that we’re not forcing them,we’re providing a set of incentives for the market to deliver desired outcomes (more and cheaper life-saving drugs). None of the opps suggestions address the problem without causing other ones as well. Their proposal regarding giving aid does not take into account the global importance of cheap living-saving medication available to all and the fact that the suppression of killing disease is a prerequisite for the resolution of poverty. Disease reduces productivity in developing countries, spreads over borders and creates instability. Addressing it is necessary in order to give these countries a chance for aid to make a concrete difference. Aside from that our plans are not even mutually-exclusive.

Our plan will reinvigorate innovation into new life-saving drugs. The opposition has at no point addressed the current stagnation of real innovation into new drugs and has actually embraced it by accusing our plan of solving it. Because as they have admitted “goods and services demanded by the West will always be more profitable” currently firms choose to focus on non-life-saving drugs that can sell in the West. Our system would stimulate investment by firms by granting them a direct and sizeable profit tied with R&D. It would allow more research to be undertaken by governmental university labs and our cost-savings would allow us to hire the some of the best scientists without losing a beat. They have countered our arguments by claiming that corporations fund university research (factually inaccurate) and that corporations will choose to focus on non-life saving drugs (the status quo) without explain why providing a good profit upfront is not going to incentivize firms.

Our plan is much more efficient and sustainable than any alternative suggested by the opposition. This plan for 0,6% GDP over about 4-5 years is much more cost efficient in the middle-term (3 years) than any other alternative and its benefits more long-lasting. We are not government economists nor will we attempt to be by telling you exactly where that money is coming from from governmental budgets (I’d go for military spending). The status quo overcharges for much less spending on R&D that’s not even on novel drugs. The opp’s suggestion we buy drugs for the lifetime of the 69% of sufferers that dont get them is a waste of resources in the long-run and fails to address the structural problem of lack of innovation.

So, because our plan gives millions the freedom to live not just freedom to die ,is more efficient and stimulates research we proudly stand in prop

Ron Pollack
The pharmaceutical industry’s repetitious cry that research and development would be curtailed if drug prices are moderated is extraordinarily misleading.
[[ http://www.actupny.org/reports/drugcosts.html%5D%5D

Yes, R&D costs money. Yet only 14% of pharmaceuticals’ budgets go to R&D. Reports have linked “high drug prices to advertising, profits and enormous executive salaries. The report documents that drug companies are spending more than twice as much on marketing, advertising, and administration.”[[Ibid.]]

Our plan does not threaten this pathetic level of investment spending. Firms are incentivized to undertake research in life-saving drugs because now they have a guaranteed return on their R&D investment. Regardless of the course of drug production and distribution they will be profit from their research. For non-life saving drugs revenue is spread over 20 years and is by not guaranteed to cover costs. Our plan is much more hassle-free for businesses and encourages higher investment in productive R&D by giving firms what they spend towards developing a new drug. This marks a break from the status quo where only one in five of drugs developed are actually innovative rather than rehashed copies of old drugs. [Ibid]]

In addition to research by firms we also enable charitable-institutions and universities to carry out further research. Scientists are principally motivated by the desire for peer recognition and also by the fact that they want to have achieved something more with their lives than reduce some teenager’s pimples by 30%. The cost savings we offer would allow us to hire some of the world’s best scientists to work in renown campuses and research institutions with a view to find solutions to pressing illnesses while still being much cheaper than the current cost.

We are not dissuading research into live-saving illnesses we’re invigorating it by offering inciting profit that is tied to results and is cost-effective.

So on the one hand you claim people in Africa can buy the drugs cheaply after the patents end and on the other you are telling us old drugs are useless because of viral resistance. Indeed this makes it all the more important to encourage innovation. We have been accused of wanting to “ change the focus of drug production from the development of new drugs to the cheaper production of drugs that already exist.”. Apart from the fact that these two aren’t mutually exclusive this accusation naively assumes what there currently IS a focus on production of new life-saving drugs.

However, “the current systems of innovation encourage drug firms to spend too much on developing minor modifications of existing drugs and on competitive marketing and patent litigation, instead of focusing efforts on innovations that will have the largest global health impact.”[[ http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/08/31/opinion/Proposed-health-fund-could-encourage-drug-developm-30136907.html%5D%5D. Currently “firms have incentives to focus on the diseases of people who can pay a lot of money when they get sick, even though those diseases tend to have many available treatments already, and the incremental health gains are typically small.” [[Ibid.]]. “Profit made by pharmaceutical firms is not, in fact, a return on their R&D, but is, instead, a return on their marketing investments”[[http://www.researchoninnovation.org/WordPress/?cat=4]] and as a result there is less incentive to make genuine investment that is aimed at the medical breakthroughs we need to address the problems you mention.

Our plan changes all this. R&D is encouraged and is directly related to profit. We create a fund that is able to attract investment in research where it is most needed fulfilling the aspirations of scientists and the needs of patients. It will directly encourage greater and more meaning full investment spending.

The opposition claims that we have not shown why our model will reduce incentive to produce a drug for a non life threatening illness. Yet, since it guarantees a multi billion dollar prize fund for firms who succeed in developing a cure for life threatening diseases NOT non life threatening illness, it is quite evident how. This ‘multi billion dollar prize fund’, together with the revenue earned from sales of drugs and of course, the reputation that will be earned after making a life altering discovery, will deter firms from choosing to simply pursue patents.

Moreover, we doubt firms will deliberately alter their drugs to ensure they are ‘non life saving’. You forget the praise and respect that a pharmaceutical firm would get for finding a cure for horrifying diseases such as AIDS etc.Not to mention that on top of this new reputation, they will earn the prize fund as well as actual revenue from the sales of the drug! The huge wasted opportunities that the opposition is talking about are merely imaginary.

Finally,the opposition has failed to understand why the system we are proposing will undeniably make drugs more accessible for people in developing countries. Once,under our method the new life saving drug is pooled into public, generic drugs developed. They are just as efficient but are substantially cheaper than brand names. According to the Congressional Budget Office, “generic drugs save consumers an estimated $8 to $10 billion a year at retail pharmacies”. In fact, due to generics from India, the most commonly used combination of AIDS drugs used in developing countries now costs $80 per patient per year .This is 99 percent less than 10 years ago. This decrease in price due to generic drugs has improved and saved the lives of millions and with our method, which will only make generic drugs more easy to develop, even more lives will be saved.
[[http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/article.cfm?id=4328&cat=open-letters]]

Ah..so we need to develop drugs because of viruses grow immune but the millions in developing countries inflicted with HIV can wait 20 years to get the new ones. Doesn’t immunity develop faster where the prevalence of the disease is highest? Doesn’t that suggest that maybe Africa should be getting all the new drugs at prices that wouldn’t make Harrods blush for a change?

Oh and no drug prices aren’t decreasing [[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_9_26/ai_n6122102/]] but even if they were we don’t feel a price reduction that makes a drug that used to only be affordable by the developing country equivalent of Bill Gates now accessible for local rockstars is cause for celebration.

0.6% GDP is a lot of money. We realize this. But what could be more important than spending money on medicine and saving lives of millions? In addition, our plan would save money for governments in the medium term by means of reduced drug premiums and more efficient drug research.

The opposition have suggested that the way to reduce illness is not accessible drugs but reducing poverty. This is a fundamental and very dangerous misapprehension by side Opp since the principal causal relationship runs from illness to poverty. When a country can’t afford to buy medicine for its people and make them get well, how exactly is it supposed to function properly and improve its living standards? Sickness is the underlying problem.ln South Africa, one-in-three women aged 25-29, and over a quarter of men aged 30-34, are living with HIV.In 2001, when the pharmaceutical companies took South Africa to court, 4.2 million had Aids.In 2009 that figure rose to 5.7 million. Clearly, the ‘agreement they made’ (after suing the country!) did not provide any solution.[[http://www.avert.org/aidssouthafrica.htm]]

Therefore, fighting poverty wont work unless people are healthy and able to work. Under our model, just as effective and much cheaper generic drugs will be allowed,sold and will save millions.

First of all, the 0,6 GDP plan were proposing is exactly that, not as opposition has suggested a 0,6 GDP per year plan. The plan set out by Stiglitz is meant to provide for the current diseases that exist so we’re looking at windows of about four to five years.

The opposition has miscalculated the savings our plans makes. Here are the real estimates:
HIV 33.2 million sufferers x 20,000 [[http://aids.about.com/od/hivmedicationfactsheets/a/fuzeon.htm ]] (actual cost of of HIV drug)= 66.4 billion per year;
Cancer 12.7 million sufferers x 50,000 = 63.5 billion per year; and another 4 billion for malaria. The total amount saved for these diseases by using generic drugs that reduce the cost of “treatment by as much as 99%” is in the region of 101.2 – 132.5 billion a year. Their suggestion to purchase all the drugs needed at current prices costs vastly more in the medium as well as long-term. Once a drug is researched it can be produced for as long as it is useful rather than being paid for again and again. It also means we only pay for the 14% spent on research costs plus as much to act as an incentive rather than all the unnecessary expenses we have in the status quo. Objections were raised as to where the money was going to come from: beats us we not government economists. What we do know, however, is that the world got into this financial mess by not planning ahead of time this measure saves money in the long-term (contributing to medium to long-term sustainability) and is necessary.

Apart from proving access to cheap drugs we also aim to reinvigorate research into new drugs of real significance rather than the stagnation of the status quo; this directly benefits all countries. The opp’s alternative was to throw the money at these countries in the form of aid which does not provide a sustainable solution to illness and cripple domestic markets. Our plan provides a crucial stepping stone to eliminating poverty by allowing for the suppression of killing dis

Firstly under plan you can pay scientists double the bonuses they get paid and still get the job done way below the current cost. This is because we won’t have to pay $6-10 million a year for the CEO of the firm in question or billions in publicity. We’re also providing incentives for the same companies to research novel drugs. Rather than fret over prices remaining high for 20 years (hence the lobbying & publicity billions) to make a profit we’re allowing them a generous R&D-linked profit on delivery.

Secondly, we have the preposterous claim that university research is funded by corporations! The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry lobby group, estimates that private industry finances only about 43% of drug development! [[http//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118638]] Our plan allows for universities and government institutions to take on more research and even provide them with concrete benefits.

Thirdly, more than 69% of those with HIV lack access to the medication to treat it.[[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7430835.stm]] Rather than pay the current prices for that 69% for as long as they need them what we do is pay for them in a drastically cheaper one-off payment that would allow for generic copies to be made ad infinitum. This way we also don’t endorse current practice that actively discourages innovation but instead create a new regime that truly rewards it allowing everyone to benefit from genuinely novel drugs.

Fourthly, the opp has argued our plan would not encourage cheaper drugs with the same effects to be produced. Of course not! If we create generic drugs, accessible to all why need a “new” drug that does exactly the same? This is what happens under the status quo;companies creating useless “me-too drugs” one after the other rather than researching into novel drugs that have something to offer. Rather than see this lack of innovation as a problem they are offering its solution as an argument ag