John Edwards vs. Pharmaceutical Patents

So Edwards is proposing the elimination of long-term patents for drug companies and the institution of a prize-based research system. This is a huge deal, undoubtedly the biggest and most transformative health policy idea we've heard during this cycle, but it gets hardly a line in his press release and little attention in the build-up. The accompanying fact sheet merely says, "Edwards will eliminate loopholes and trade obstacles that block generic drugs. He will convene an expert panel to identify disorders where prizes for breakthrough drugs – not patent monopolies—would offer new incentives to researchers, guaranteed gains to companies, and lower costs to patients. Edwards will let the FDA approve biogenerics, saving up to $43 billion over 10 years. [Stiglitz, 2005; CAGW, 2007]" How much of the patent system will be replaced with prizes is, as you can see, vague yet, though that's partially to the good. You probably want a test program before you can even start talking about a full transition.

For those interested in the theory here, I don't know what the CAGW footnote is, but Stiglitz has explained this idea previously, so his op-ed on the subject is probably a good guide. I'm a fan of this idea, though how it's implemented, and on what scale, obviously matter.