I hope that some of those damages may be redirected toward such efforts as the Intermountain Healthcare initiative to bring at least some part of the generic drug industry into the nonprofit arena. Profit surely drives innovation, and I would not begrudge anyone the opportunity to make a buck off their hard work. For drugs that have been around for a generation, however, I think we have earned the right to expect they will remain both available and affordable—and the right to breathe.
Philip Seo, MD, MHS, is an associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore. He is director of both the Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center and the Johns Hopkins Rheumatology Fellowship Program.
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