Second Wave

[DimPrawn]

R&D biggest cost, plus extra costs of failed drugs - it’s all fixed, so mass producing billion dozes should not be that bad - it will available as “generic” - nobody in Asia, Russia, Africa, Middle East, will give a fook about patent for live saving drug

FTFY

Europe will say "we cannot break a rule, we must all die"

[sasguru]

Probably a few tens of dollars knowing how these patent holding drug companies gouge the market.

Generally speaking, it can take 10 years and billions of dollars to bring a new drug to market.
What model do you suggest for getting that investment back?

No new drugs were ever developed in the old Soviet Union, AFAIK.

[Old Greg]

Generally speaking, it can take 10 years and billions of dollars to bring a new drug to market.
What model do you suggest for getting that investment back?

No new drugs were ever developed in the old Soviet Union, AFAIK.

In a global public health emergency, countries can legislate to ignore the patent. Benefits would outweigh the (genuine) drawbacks you allude to.

[DimPrawn]

No new drugs were ever developed in the old Soviet Union, AFAIK.

I find that hard to swallow.

[tazdevil]

Generally speaking, it can take 10 years and billions of dollars to bring a new drug to market.
What model do you suggest for getting that investment back?

No new drugs were ever developed in the old Soviet Union, AFAIK.

Isn't this why the government is investing in the R&D to find suitable medical solutions? The government doesn't need to get its investment back in the first instance because their first priority is protecting the population and secondly ensuring the international drugs business aids the UK economy.

[AtW]

Isn't this why the government is investing in the R&D to find suitable medical solutions? The government doesn't need to get its investment back in the first instance because their first priority is protecting the population and secondly ensuring the international drugs business aids the UK economy.

The Govt first, second and third priorities is to keep their own arses in power - there is no incentive for them to make long term decisions, this system is designed for massive repeated failures.

[Old Greg]

Isn't this why the government is investing in the R&D to find suitable medical solutions? The government doesn't need to get its investment back in the first instance because their first priority is protecting the population and secondly ensuring the international drugs business aids the UK economy.

The best route to an anti-viral is to identify an existing medication that is effective for Covid-19. This wouldn't require development, and its safety (and risks / side effects) would already be understood for the general population. If such a drug is identified (and it's a big IF, but there are plenty of hopeful candidates), then individual countries have a choice
1. Do they respect the patent and pay what they have to?
2. Do they use their sovereign power to ignore the patent and produce it themselves (or license companies to produce it)?
3. Do they use the threat of 2 to significantly drive down the cost?

[LondonManc]

Hopefully he is right, but it won't be safe enough to use on mass scale, only for health workers and others who under much higher risk.

And then there are anti-vaxxers, who will be out in force with their tin foil hats.

Nice bit of Darwinism in action.

[DimPrawn]

French have found a cure!

French researchers to test nicotine patches on coronavirus patients | World news | The Guardian

[DimPrawn]

I just bought a ton of nicotine gum just incase....