The health needs of the world’s poorest people are not being adequately served by market-driven health systems

In wealthy economies, the pharmaceutical IP system works tolerably well, especially when supported by generous government grants (such as the US National Institutes of Health) and tax subsidies (such as R&D tax credits and the Orphan Drug tax credit). In wealthy countries, access issues from IP-induced higher prices are ameliorated by government-subsidized insurance and other social mechanisms. These subsidies total hundreds of billions of dollars in OECD member countries. The pharmaceutical IP system works in wealthy countries because massive subsidies and social insurance compensate for its weaknesses.