This is What Free Market Pharma Can Do

Before the Coronavirus Pandemic, if a pharmaceutical company wanted to: develop, test, and win "approval" from controlling, government regulatory departments to sell a medicine, the process could typically take about 15 years.

Then Covid 19 hit.  It was contagious--a very deadly flu that spread around the whole world.  There was no known cure, or any treatment at first.  Finally, America woke up.  The United States government, led by President Donald Trump, slashed red tape, drastically rolled back regulations, and even restrained many government departments from getting involved at all.

On March 12th of this year, Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) began a collaboration with AbCellera Biologics Inc. to co-develop antibody therapies for Covid 19, where Big Pharma, Eli Lilly, assumed the responsibility to manufacture and market the resulting medicine.

Just 81 days later, the product of private effort--a selected antibody that would have taken perhaps a decade to advance before--is entering human trials to determine its safety and tolerability.

June 1st marks a milestone in the history of medicine.  Instead of medical companies being overly worried about being blamed if something goes wrong, and bureaucrats depending on infallibility for their careers, finally in an atmosphere of reasonability: scientists, businessmen, and stockholders are liberated to advance one of the most important products of mankind.  Watch Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY).  This is what Free Market Pharma can do.

Paul Wharton

Special thanks to Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) for inventing the fuel of my mind