Thanks for your thoughts and sorry for the delay (I’m at the UN (WIDER) in Finland if that is an excuse?)…

In any case, Kevin, there are a few proposals regarding patents. Pogge has (co-authored) an online book on the topic. The problem is coming up with the funds to create an alternate patent system or getting the companies to agree to the limits. I wish him the best of luck and would be happy to help out in any way I can. The nice thing about the Fair Trade Bio idea is that it is not a competitor to these other reforms. And, it is practically free.

There is a lot of work on research ethics and whether or not it is acceptable to have lower safety standards in poor countries. I won’t go into it, but I think it would be better to help the poor secure safe drugs.

Although Fair Trade Bio would not be a panacea, the rents companies could get from those who care enough to pay a bit more for Fair Trade drugs (or who would buy those over alternatives) might help with some of the costs. There might also be a shift in research priorities - away from pimple medication etc. and towards essential drugs if the licensing schema was implemented.

J, I think an AIDS, tuberculosis, or malaria vaccine could do wonders. I’ve seen some CBAs out there that suggest at least some of these things are a great idea. So, while helping companies create these vaccines might not be the most important thing we could do for the poor, it does seem worthwhile.

As far as the cartel bit, I think you’ll have to explain.

Cheers, -Nicole

Early on, you write, ““Malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, and tuberculosis, which together account for 21 percent of the GBD, receive 0.31 percent of all public and private funds devoted to health research”

It strikes me that these are the kinds of diseases you prevent by better sanitation, better food, and with some chemicals to repel mosquitos. Prima facie, they don’t seem like the kinds of diseases we need new drugs for. As you say, “War, natural disasters, dirty water, and inadequate food provide the biggest obstacles to health in developing countries. Prevention and poverty alleviation could do much more for the poor than pills.” That sounds about right to me.

So in that spirit: Have you considered addressing the patent issues on most of these drugs? Many policy-makers and economists agree that the patents on pharmaceuticals last too long, far beyond what pharma companies need in order to pay for the research and development costs. One easy way to reduce costs is to limit these patents.

Another way of reducing costs is to reduce the regulations on drug testing. The FDA adds enormous expense to the drug development process, for instance. The UN might have a voluntary regulatory board that could test drugs and deem them safe for ‘emergency care’ to the poorest across the globe. Then governments and NGOs would have the ability to buy and distribute the drugs internationally (that is, if national regulatory bodies would allow it).