It often takes a pharmaceutical firm 15 years or more to develop a new drug. The sales from these new drugs must recover the expenses of research and development. Do they forgo profits for investors (and to fund additional research) in order to help those in need? Many of these pharmaceutical firms want to support socially responsible causes. What are these firms facing when they are asked to lower the price of drugs that are distributed to third world nations?

Question

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Pharmaceutical firms face an ethical dilemma when they are asked to lower the price of drugs that are distributed to third world nations. While they may want to support socially responsible causes, they also need to generate profits to recover research and development expenses and fund additional research. Lowering prices may negatively impact profits and future research and development.

It Often Takes a Pharmaceutical Firm 15 Years or More