It is a popular pastime to portray large pharamceutical companies as monstrous villains because they refuse to give away their products for free.

Research to develop new drugs is expensive and uncertain. It takes on average ten years and $1 billion to get a new drug approved for sale in the US.

Profits from existing drugs make that research and development possible.

Obvious, then, that if we want new development in medicine, we need to help pharmaceutical companies to make a profit.

Instead, review and approval processes, and endless litigation, drain so much money that it is made almost impossible for drug companies to fund ongoing high levels of research.

Demands for affordable health care, and even worse, free health care, (both of which mean ‘If I get sick someone else should pay for it’) may force the end of our recent history of medical miracles, and cause reduced care for most, and no care at all for many of those most in need.