Bill Gates takes rich to task

[Carl Remick]

>From: Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu>
>
>>I think someone may have already pointed out the following: an extremely
>important kind of research, which drug companies _never_ do, is research
>into new applications of old medicines. Consider, for example, the great
>uses that have been found out for aspirin just in the last decade or so.
>And the medication I take for migraine (Zanaflex) was not developed for
>migraine -- it was developed for some other illness and its
>anti-migraine powers accidentally discovered. Under capitalism we will
>never discover many, perhaps most, of the potential powers of drugs
>already developed.

On the contrary, the more uses a drug has, the more profitable it is to a 
drug company.  But what drugmakers like most, I believe, is new "off-label" 
uses for a drug -- i.e., uses for purposes other than those that the FDA has 
OK'd.  What these companies don't like is spending money to get these drugs 
officially sanctioned for new uses.

Carl

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