WorldPost/Washington Post: Big Pharma is hurting drug innovation
Mariana Mazzucato, director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

“…If governments acted with the same urgency and strategic deliberation toward improving health as they do when it comes to national defense, we might be able to transform health care and deliver the next generation of medical breakthroughs to reach the people who need them the most. … [T]he Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should introduce a research mission … to stimulate innovation in health care … A more empowered HHS — one better focused on achieving solutions to public health needs — could also strike better deals. … HHS should also push for more transparency among the different actors bearing the cost of research and development. … Lastly, the government must create the conditions to ensure new drugs remain affordable and easily accessible. … It is clear that the pharmaceutical business model is one that pursues profits rather than public health objectives. … Profit-making has become so entrenched in the drug industry that it requires a fundamental transformation — one that compels it to deliver public value and spark genuine market-invigorating innovation. We can do this only if we begin to focus on what really matters: putting patients over profits…” (10/17).