Is there any reason why non-profits aren’t doing drug research?
Yes. It’s very expensive (say thanks to the FDA for that) and very uncertain. You need to invest tens and maybe hundreds of millions of dollars into a project that has a >90% chance of failure. In the real world it would be pretty hard to find sufficient donors for that.
You are right, the costs of putting new drugs in the market are extremely high, and maybe 1 in 10 make the cut. Very few people would be willing to invest that much money on such a return. Investing in a pharmaceutical company would give an investor a financial return, and investing in an efficient charity will give a philanthropist the best return for lives saved.
The article may imply some limits to efficient philanthropy. Improving the process of drug research would save (produce?) a huge number of QUALYS, but there’s no way to tell in advance what the cost is likely to be or what the odds of success are.
Yes. It’s very expensive (say thanks to the FDA for that) and very uncertain. You need to invest tens and maybe hundreds of millions of dollars into a project that has a >90% chance of failure. In the real world it would be pretty hard to find sufficient donors for that.
You are right, the costs of putting new drugs in the market are extremely high, and maybe 1 in 10 make the cut. Very few people would be willing to invest that much money on such a return. Investing in a pharmaceutical company would give an investor a financial return, and investing in an efficient charity will give a philanthropist the best return for lives saved.
The article may imply some limits to efficient philanthropy. Improving the process of drug research would save (produce?) a huge number of QUALYS, but there’s no way to tell in advance what the cost is likely to be or what the odds of success are.