We Just Barely Averted a Gigantic Pandemic Grift by Big Pharma
The pharmaceutical giant Gilead tried to pull a fast one by seeking a special status that would restrict the supply of its coronavirus drug and boost profits. Luckily, healthcare advocates, left-wing journalists, and Bernie Sanders were having none of it.
Tremaine Fredericks rides on an empty Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan on Tuesday in New York City. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a special classification reserved for medicines intended to treat rare diseases: “orphan drug status.”
Pharmaceutical companies covet this classification. Orphan drugs face less intense regulation and are therefore less expensive to develop. The classification also comes with tax breaks and a guarantee of seven years without generic competitors.
These incentives are meant to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs for which there is low market demand. And once they’re developed, they can be sold at whatever price corporations can fetch. Every single one of the world’s ten most expensive medicines is an orphan drug, making the classification an enormous cash cow for pharmaceutical companies.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.