MYTH 3: Private investment funds medical R&D so we need to charge high prices to be accountable to these investors.
BUSTED! Who pays for drug R&D? We do. A study from the Global Forum for Health Research showed that 43% of investment is fronted by public money, 45% from the private sector and 7% from Philanthropic groups. Furthermore in terms of who does the research, three-quarters of all new molecular developments have come from state funded organisations such as universities. Despite public investment the price given to these drugs is not reflective of the public’s investment—so although the public have to front the risk, the reward is privatised.
