It was stated in this blog in an earlier post that a substantial monetary prize would be ample incentive for finding effective and efficient solutions to contemporary problems such as HIV/Aids and the identification of any alternative sources of energy. Prof. Joseph Stiglitz argues in an article that the use of prizes as a mechanism for ensuring the development of drugs for cures and vaccines that are neglected by the pharmaceutical industries on grounds of the lack of firm markets.
The use of prizes would be in response to the need to limit the monopoly that drug companies bear in the form of patents without affecting their ability to develop drugs that are bound to be more lucrative for them. With an adequate fund, vaccines and cures for the most intractable diseases such as malaria and HIV/ADS would be at hand because the management of these diseases is more profitable for drug corporations at the moment. Still, Prof. Joseph Stiglitz acknowledges that the use of prizes will not of necessity replace patents. Over time, the distribution of innovation and rewards will be determined by the relative efficiency of either method and the degree to which competitive pressure between the two will spur innovation.
No comments:
Post a Comment