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Kathy Hughes's avatar

We are far from the days when Alexander Fleming, who discovered insulin to treat diabetes, sold the patent for a token $1 since he wanted the drug to be available to all. We should have a nonprofit research center working to develop new antibiotics, antiparasitics, and antivirals. The current system is not working and we are broke.

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J L Graham's avatar

Fleming's perspicacity gave us penicillin, but yes, there a cases when breakthrough discoveries were donated to the common good. In recent decades, Congress reversed the policy that considered public university research public domain, and that opened a whole can of worms for both universities and the common weal.

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