Nah, that’s not the issue (nor do I believe in magic bullets, but that’s a different matter). See, the issue is that MDMA can’t be patented. Anyone can make it so no one pharmacorp can have a 20 year monopoly
Usually first to market work generics enjoys a year of exclusivity. Usually other companies abandon our back burnera project they don’t make to market first. There’s still money to be made. Just not as much.
Current pharmaceuticals are usually a (life)long prescription. It’s not like antibiotics, where you get a dose for a few days or weeks and you’re done. Antidepressants have to be taken for years. Every day. That means revenue every day. It’s a treatment, not a cure.
MDMA on the other hand is a (potential) cure. You take it a few times under supervision and that’s it.
Problem is, this takes away customers from the former group. And that means, far less revenue from “traditional” psychopharmacology products. MDMA cannibalizes other drugs.
I said potential to help cure. I think MDMA assisted psychotherapy, in particular, has the potential to cure PTSD in a lot of people. Not everyone. But a lot.
And the patent issue on this has been solved by starting a non-profit pharmaceutical company and getting grants and donations to fund these trials. And then patenting the treatment protocols under a public trust corp I believe. I follow MAPS quite a bit, the non-profit that spear headed a lot of this.
I think what the other poster said about the FDA approving drugs with more cardiovascular issues than MDMA is true and points towards corporate bias in the panel (which most of us probably know is true).
Treating mental health with SSRIs etc. is a big business. Some of that panel probably stands to lose money if some of those repeat customers find a cure.
You sound like you’d be interested in David Healy’s work. Check out Children of the Cure if you haven’t already. That, as well as a plethora of other shady things I learned in university, are responsible for reorienting me toward public policy rather than becoming a practicing psychologist.
Nah, that’s not the issue (nor do I believe in magic bullets, but that’s a different matter). See, the issue is that MDMA can’t be patented. Anyone can make it so no one pharmacorp can have a 20 year monopoly
Usually first to market work generics enjoys a year of exclusivity. Usually other companies abandon our back burnera project they don’t make to market first. There’s still money to be made. Just not as much.
I think you don’t quite understand the comment.
Current pharmaceuticals are usually a (life)long prescription. It’s not like antibiotics, where you get a dose for a few days or weeks and you’re done. Antidepressants have to be taken for years. Every day. That means revenue every day. It’s a treatment, not a cure.
MDMA on the other hand is a (potential) cure. You take it a few times under supervision and that’s it.
Problem is, this takes away customers from the former group. And that means, far less revenue from “traditional” psychopharmacology products. MDMA cannibalizes other drugs.
I said potential to help cure. I think MDMA assisted psychotherapy, in particular, has the potential to cure PTSD in a lot of people. Not everyone. But a lot.
And the patent issue on this has been solved by starting a non-profit pharmaceutical company and getting grants and donations to fund these trials. And then patenting the treatment protocols under a public trust corp I believe. I follow MAPS quite a bit, the non-profit that spear headed a lot of this.
I think what the other poster said about the FDA approving drugs with more cardiovascular issues than MDMA is true and points towards corporate bias in the panel (which most of us probably know is true).
Treating mental health with SSRIs etc. is a big business. Some of that panel probably stands to lose money if some of those repeat customers find a cure.
You sound like you’d be interested in David Healy’s work. Check out Children of the Cure if you haven’t already. That, as well as a plethora of other shady things I learned in university, are responsible for reorienting me toward public policy rather than becoming a practicing psychologist.
I found a TED talk with him I’m listening now. Thanks for the lead I hadn’t heard of him before.