> Profit-driven industry makes extremely perverse incentives
People who are specialists in something other than economics often make this argument but it's often a very weak argument, IMO. Liability means that you are incentivized to be quite cautious in pushing a potentially dangerous product. Particularly with pharmaceuticals a class action can be easily and successfully argued in court. Moreover, a relatively small number of dangerous flops will tank your reputation with consumers. I would also add that you can't make any more money selling drugs to people you have killed.
The worst money incentive for drug manufacturers is that market forces push them towards recurring treatments for diseases that effect a large number of people. However that seems less than perverse to me.
> I would also add that you can't make any more money selling drugs to people you have killed.
That assumes that people are playing a long game. If you're looking for your payday and exit, and there are many people out there who are only looking for the next payday, this argument falls apart.
> Moreover, a relatively small number of dangerous flops will tank your reputation with consumers.
One success the anti-vax people have achieved is to muddy the waters around this. Your public reputation is no longer correlated to actual performance.
> Liability means that you are incentivized to be quite cautious in pushing a potentially dangerous product
There's a long list of people throughout history who do not have this caution at all.
You seem to be taking a theoretical economics approach. Reality is different. People are not perfectly rational actors, and consequences are not consistent.
The antivax people are still fringe and by and large people trust that the drugs they take are safe and effective.
Payday and exit is pretty hard in biotech as you need to conjure up billions of dollars in capital, which doesn't often flow to people who payday-and-exit.
What happens in reality is that people try really hard to make safe and effective drugs, they mostly fail, and the ones that are approved are generally safe and effective.
People who are specialists in something other than economics often make this argument but it's often a very weak argument, IMO. Liability means that you are incentivized to be quite cautious in pushing a potentially dangerous product. Particularly with pharmaceuticals a class action can be easily and successfully argued in court. Moreover, a relatively small number of dangerous flops will tank your reputation with consumers. I would also add that you can't make any more money selling drugs to people you have killed.
The worst money incentive for drug manufacturers is that market forces push them towards recurring treatments for diseases that effect a large number of people. However that seems less than perverse to me.