Book chapter
How the Government Created the Pharmaceutical Industry
Mother of Invention
29 Nov 2013
Abstract
The pharmaceutical industry, perennially one of the most profitable,requires a steady flow of biomedical research to develop new products. However, investment in basic scienceis difficult for private firms because discoveries are public goods available to everyone. The government has stepped in to fill this gap through the National Institutes of Health, which funds almost $30 billion of biomedical research each year. Often, it does so throughexplicit partnerships with private companies. Recent proactive initiatives, such as the Human Genome Project,areleading the industry to new scientific frontiers in genomic and personalized medicine. The government lends the industry further support by overseeing safety through the Food and Drug Administration, funding drug purchases through Medicare and Medicaid, and granting patents to new products. Without the government’s help, the industry would still exist, but it would be smaller, sell fewer products, and generate far less in profits.
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Details
- Title
- How the Government Created the Pharmaceutical Industry
- Creators
- Robert I Field
- Publication Details
- Mother of Invention
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Thomas R. Kline School of Law
- Other Identifier
- 991019298873704721