🎭More Cures and Less Lifelong Attempts at Masking Symptoms

High Costs Punish Finding Cures Over Masking Symptoms Since Cures Are Far Less Profitable Than Lifetime Treatments

If the new treatment is a permanent cure for the disease, replacing a lifetime of refills with a one-time purchase would be economically disastrous for the drug developer. With a lifetime prescription, a company can recover its costs over time. Depending on the number of people with the disease, one-time cures would require a massive upfront payment to recover development costs.

How is there any financial incentive for medical progress at all?

Fortunately, there isn't a complete monopoly on treatment development. However, the more expensive it is to get a drug to market, the fewer companies can afford the upfront R&D investment. So the drug industry inevitably becomes more monopolistic. Thus, there are more situations where the cost of trials for a superior treatment exceeds the profits from existing treatments.