There are over 110,000 New Yorkers with AIDS for whom this day, “World AIDS Day” is for. Created in 1988 as the kick off for December, a month full of festive holidays, it’s good to see the government show how much they care with a day of ‘awareness.’
In 2008, The government proudly spent 3.3 BILLION in tax dollars fighting AIDS globally! In 2011 they spent 4 Billion dollars funding the FDA to make sure that new drugs, among other things, are safe for public consumption…
So, what about a cure for AIDS?
The private sector is doing more than you think, and a lot more in general than the government at large. According to Science Daily “Big Pharma” spent $33 BILLION DOLLARS ON RESEARCH or 13.4% of their domestic sales in 2004. That left 86.6% or almost 200 billion dollars for paying rent, salaries, ad campaigns, TAXES, and of course lawyers to navigate the 5 YEAR WAITING process imposed by the FDA which costs approximately 100-200 MILLION dollars per product.
Wish the private sector would do more?
People invest in things based on risk and reward, and thanks to the government’s approval process, the risk is very high. Only established companies have the means to bring new products to market and most start ups are OUT of business within 5-years which is ‘just in time’ to die during federal processing.
The financial risk associated with discovering a genuine cure for complicated illnesses like AIDS or Cancer, along with the scrutiny it faces from bureaucrats make this type of endeavor much less attractive than say, creating a drug that inhibits, masks, or detracts from symptoms.
So, today on World AIDS Day, let us raise ‘awareness’ about the billions of public dollars robbed from investors that could’ve (but didn’t) find a cure and the 5-year gauntlets that only the wealthiest companies can survive.