The federal government uses taxpayer money to fund research for producing new drugs. To do so, the government allows & encourages universities to conduct their research and license the patents to private pharmaceutical corporations. In this process, the universities are able to procure money from licensing the newly invented drug, the pharma corporations will be able to make profits on successful drugs, and taxpayers get new treatment drugs to maximize public health. Although this model seems excellent on paper, the licensed patents of pharmaceutical companies can allow them to price their drug however they want.

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This problem existed way before the novel Corona Virus however COVID-19 has publicly depicted the fault lines in this model for supporting research and commercialization. Several of the most promising treatments and vaccine candidates, such as Gilead’s drug Remdesivir and Moderna’s  vaccine were created  through government funding. However, the private companies now licensed to develop them will have complete control on how much to charge. If prices aren’t kept under control, this problem will continue to exist.

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High prices on taxpayer-funded drugs have been a growing problem since the AIDS treatment debate in the 80's. Today there are over 250 drug treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and now on the market, including lucrative cancer drugs and biologics, that began in federally funded labs. To fight this, our initiative is pushing through our grassroots social media campaign to have taxpayer-funded drugs accessible and affordable to the public rather than have them solely for private profits.

 

Not only Combat The Patent Prices, this issue is being brought up in the House of Representatives & The Senate also. Members of Congress including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senate Member Elizabeth Warren have criticized drug companies for privatizing publicly funded research and then charging high prices. With initiatives from patient advocacy organizations and pushes by lawmakers, this issue is being tackled directly.

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