Politicized Rx

Negative impact of politicization on availability of safe, effective and affordable therapies.

One of many examples of the negative consequences of politics infiltrating every aspect of life is the political interference in the pharmaceutical market, where subpar and profit-driven drug producers who are favored by the ruling political party can dominate over more ethical and competent manufacturers.

The pharmaceutical industry’s hesitancy to support the use of repurposed, converted and even substituted drugs - can be attributed to several factors, primarily revolving around economic incentives. Repurposing existing drugs for new therapeutic uses has the potential to provide safe, affordable, and timely treatment options, especially for patients with high medical needs (Ref). However, the industry often faces a lack of economic incentives to invest in research for approved medicines, particularly those that are out of basic patent or regulatory protection (Ref).

Drug repurposing involves finding new therapeutic uses for existing or investigational drugs. It is a strategy that ca…