Saving the world from COVID-19

They are invariably described as “the evil empire,” “price gougers,” and “deep-pocketed special interests” who conspire to keep a lid on cures so people are forced to buy their medicines.

Welcome to the critics’ view of the pharmaceutical industry.

Not only are these monikers false, but those who bandy around such labels are the ultimate hypocrites, because when the stuff hits the fan regarding their own health, they immediately turn to the very entities they hold in contempt.

That’s not to say the industry is perfect. But the constant whining about “pharma greed” grows really, really old — especially now.

For the rest of planet Earth, faith and hope in pharma have never been higher, since the havoc created by the COVID-19 pandemic continues unabated. Hundreds of pharmaceutical and biotech companies are literally working around the clock to discover new ways to combat the virus, from diagnostic testing to therapeutic treatments to, of course, vaccine development.

To those who cavalierly shrug off coronavirus and the race for a vaccine by saying “we’ll be fine after enough people contract it and we develop herd-immunity” — sorry, but you don’t get to play God with millions of lives.

Make no mistake: Developing a vaccine will be extremely difficult, as there has never been one for an RNA-virus such as COVID-19. That said, never before have the world’s best and brightest scientists worked so hard, in many cases collaboratively, to eradicate a single virus. The race for a cure is taking radically different approaches, from attacking Tcells

to messenger-RNA to everything in between. That cutting-edge technology is not just providing immediate benefits against C19, but generating priceless knowledge that will help humanity fight the next deadly pathogen — be it natural, or, as may very well be the case with C19, genetically-engineered in a certain country’s bio-weapons laboratory.

But for these incredible breakthroughs to continue, a bipartisan Congress needs to act. Here are four things that can be immediately implemented to assist the industry in its lifesaving work:

1) Lengthen patent periods for prescription drugs: At first glance, the cost to bring a single drug to market is several billion dollars. But the trueoutlay is substantially higher — as much as $11 billion when factoring in drug failures. In other words, pharma companies often spend billions on a drug’s development, only to see it fail (fewer than 1 in 10 medicines that begin clinical trials succeed).

Companies not forced to recoup their development costs so quickly could lower prices. Obviously, the industry must be wary of greedy pricing practices (evidenced by the Epi-pen saga), but lengthening patent periods is a win-win.

2) Take on the trial lawyers: Donald Trump wasn’t beholden to the trial lawyers and their deep pockets, so he was uniquely positioned to spearhead malpractice reform. Our drug manufacturers (and doctors) must be given some protection from frivolous lawsuits and ludicrous jackpot jury awards.

3) Mandate medicines be manufactured in America: The U.S. must once again achieve “medicine independence.” A staggering percentage of our medications are manufactured elsewhere, with upwards of 80 percent of pharmaceutical ingredients and drugs being produced in China and India. Unacceptable, and tragically ironic, since American companies do the heavy lifting in developing drugs, conducting clinical trials, and implementing safety protocols.

4) Inject Anti-Vaxxers with common sense: In the immunization/anti-vaccination debate, one thing is clear: Once-eradicated diseases such as measles, mumps and whooping cough have made tremendous comebacks. As a result, ravaging outbreaks are increasing throughout the world.

We have vaccines for these diseases, which have, undeniably, saved millions. Yet despite that, a growing anti-vaxx movement in America refuses to immunize themselves and their children, placing entire populations at increased risk of contracting deadly diseases.

We need to stop gently needling anti-vaxxers. It’s time to take off the gloves and wallop them with the right medicine — facts that explain why they are wrong.

Many anti-vaxxers are virulently opposed to any coronavirus vaccine — a classic example of formulating an ironclad conclusion before facts are even known.

That is not just selfish and ignorant, but downright dangerous to the physical and economic well-being of America.

Forcibly injecting vaccines should not occur, but proof of vaccination (including, hopefully, one for coronavirus) as a requirement for everyday activities - school, work, sporting events, flying - is a reasonable approach.

To eradicate the two greatest threats to our collective health — coronavirus and ignorance — the best prescription is a highdose booster of common sense.