The pharmaceutical industry’s culture of greed is prioritizing profits over patients, and this has become particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite taxpayers funding the research, development, and procurement of the NIH-Moderna COVID vaccine, Moderna is proposing to quadruple the vaccine’s price to as much as $130 once the government stockpile runs out. This decision will cost taxpayers billions of dollars and disproportionately affect those who cannot afford the vaccine. This profit-making approach by the pharmaceutical industry is a stark contrast to the moral vision of great scientists such as Dr. Jonas Salk, Alexander Fleming, and Dr. Frederick Banting, who prioritized easing suffering and saving human lives over making obscene profits. Senator Bernie Sanders argues that it is time to change the current culture of greed into a culture that prioritizes the needs of ordinary people and that medical breakthroughs should work for the benefit of all people, not just enrich large corporations and CEOs. By doing so, the pharmaceutical industry can create a healthcare system that prioritizes the well-being of patients and ensures that life-saving medication is accessible to everyone who needs it.
The Intersection of Corporate Greed, Life-Saving Medicine, and Taxpayer Investment: The Moderna Case
Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, voluntarily joined a panel to discuss the unprecedented level of corporate greed in the pharmaceutical industry, including in his own company. Despite 37% of Americans being unable to afford prescription drugs prescribed by their doctors, the top 10 pharmaceutical companies made over $100 billion in profits in 2021, a 137% increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, the 50 top executives of these corporations earned a combined total compensation of $1.9 billion in 2021, and stand to receive billions more in golden parachutes upon leaving their companies. This reality leaves Americans to die due to the exorbitant cost of prescription drugs.
Furthermore, despite many tens of billions of dollars invested by taxpayers over the past decade to research and develop life-saving medicine, the citizens of the United States pay far more for prescription drugs than people in any other country. In some cases, Americans pay as much as ten times more for the same drugs. This disparity raises the question: what does a lifesaving drug mean for someone who cannot afford to buy it?
The focus of the panel discussion was on Moderna and its COVID-19 vaccine, which was developed in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies. Moderna may wish to claim sole credit for the vaccine, but it is widely acknowledged that the NIH played a crucial role in its development. Three NIH scientists are listed as “co-inventors” of the vaccine and were “integral members of a collaborative team of scientists working to design and produce” it, according to a letter received by the panel’s members on March 17th. This letter highlights the fact that this vaccine would not exist without the NIH’s partnership, expertise, and the substantial investment of American taxpayers.
In conclusion, this panel discussion sheds light on the intersection of corporate greed, life-saving medicine, and taxpayer investment in the pharmaceutical industry, using Moderna and its COVID-19 vaccine as a case study. The discussion underscores the urgent need for reforms in the industry to ensure that life-saving drugs are affordable for all Americans.
Moderna’s Billionaire Founders and Taxpayer Investment in the COVID-19 Vaccine
The U.S. taxpayers invested a staggering $12 billion in the research, development, and procurement of the NIH-Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna’s thank you to taxpayers? Proposing to quadruple the price of the vaccine to as much as $130 per dose once the government stockpile runs out. This is despite the fact that it costs just $2.85 to manufacture the vaccine.
As a result of the pandemic, Moderna has already made $21 billion in profits from the COVID-19 vaccine, and four of its executives and investors have collectively become more than $10 billion wealthier. Moderna’s CEO, Stephane Bancel, became a billionaire overnight as soon as the company started receiving billions of dollars from the federal government. He is now worth $4.7 billion and is set to receive a golden parachute worth another $926 million upon leaving the company.
However, Mr. Bancel is not alone in profiting from the COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna’s co-founders Noubar Afeyan and Robert Langer, as well as founding investor Tim Springer, have also become billionaires as a result of the taxpayer investment in the vaccine. None of these individuals were billionaires before the vaccine was developed with taxpayer money.
This type of excessive compensation and profiteering is unacceptable to the American people. In response to this issue, a hearing was held to ask Moderna to reconsider its decision to raise the price of the vaccine. Moderna has since pledged that its vaccines and boosters will continue to be available at no cost to the vast majority of people in the United States through a patient assistance program.
While this is good news, the bad news is that patient assistance programs are often poorly designed and difficult for patients to access. The committee aims to work with Moderna to create a program that allows every American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for free, without the need for complicated paperwork or personal questions. In other words, the vaccine should be truly available for free to all Americans.
In conclusion, the taxpayer investment in the COVID-19 vaccine has resulted in massive profits for Moderna and its executives and investors. While the company has pledged to provide a patient assistance program, the committee will work to ensure that the program is accessible and provides free access to the vaccine for all Americans.
Moral Responsibility of the Pharmaceutical Industry
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the deep inequalities that exist within the global healthcare system. One of the most pressing issues is the high cost of prescription drugs in America and around the world. While great scientific breakthroughs have been made, many people are unable to access life-saving medication due to the high prices demanded by the pharmaceutical industry.
Senator Bernie Sanders poses a moral question to the committee: should people be allowed to suffer and die simply because they cannot afford medication? He believes that it is time to change the culture of greed that permeates the pharmaceutical industry and to create a culture that prioritizes the needs of ordinary people.
Senator Sanders cites the examples of great scientists such as Dr. Jonas Salk, who invented the polio vaccine in the 1950s. Dr. Salk’s decision not to patent the vaccine saved millions of lives and prevented millions more from being paralyzed. Dr. Salk believed that the vaccine belonged to the people and refused to make obscene profits from his invention.
Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin in 1928, similarly refused to profit from his discovery. Fleming believed that he did not invent penicillin, but rather discovered it by accident. His goal was to ease suffering and save human lives, not to make billions for himself.
Similarly, Dr. Frederick Banting, who invented insulin in 1921, sold the rights to insulin for just $1, believing that it belonged to the world. It is estimated that Dr. Banting’s invention has saved some 300 million lives.
Senator Sanders argues that the pharmaceutical industry should prioritize the needs of patients over profits. The purpose of medical breakthroughs should be to save lives, not to enrich large corporations and CEOs. The moral vision of these great scientists should serve as an example for the industry.
In conclusion, it is time for the pharmaceutical industry to change its culture of greed and prioritize the needs of ordinary people. By doing so, the industry can create a healthcare system that prioritizes the well-being of patients and ensures that life-saving medication is accessible to everyone who needs it.
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