🥫No Data on Unpatentable Molecules
We still know next to nothing about the long-term effects of 99.9% of the 4 pounds of over 7,000 different synthetic or natural chemicals you consume every day.
Under the current system of research, it costs $41k per subject in Phase III clinical trials. As a result, there is not a sufficient profit incentive for anyone to research the effects of any factor besides a molecule that can be patented.
Lack of Incentive to Discover the Full Range of Applications for Off-Patent Treatments
There are roughly 10,000 known diseases afflicting humans, most of which (approximately 95%) are classified as “orphan” (rare) diseases. The current system requires that a pharmaceutical company predict a particular condition in advance of running clinical trials. If a drug is found to be effective for other diseases after the patent has expired, no one has the financial incentive to get it approved for another disease.
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