Cooperatize the Pharmaceutical Industry

Mazzucato and Li, and Darzi provide compelling arguments for and against the nationalisation of the pharmaceutical industry.1 Mazzucato and Li’s argument regarding the “short termism and misalignment of public interest” are justified criticisms of big pharma, and Darzi’s counter on the singular financial power that these companies wield is an effective response. This argument is not, however, the simple binary it appears to be. There is a third way: a cooperative system.

Pharmaceutical companies modelled on the seven cooperative principles have the potential to tackle several of the problems raised by the authors.

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