Making drug development less secretive could lead to quicker, cheaper therapies

Thomson Reuters Almost all new medicines are discovered by the pharmaceutical industry. It’s an expensive process that requires investment up front, so investors need guarantees, secrecy and patents to safeguard their return. This financial model is a major constraint on the pharmaceutical industry. Medicines for diseases with small markets are not prioritised and areas associated with unclear basic science are considered too risky. The world was surprised to learn there were no medicines for ...