Question: Is it okay for developing nations to manufacture patented AIDS medications without paying US pharmaceutical companies royalties?
Answer: Yes. (According to 52 of the nations in the United Nations. Only the United States voted “No”)
My Answer: A very emphatic YES! Pharmaceutical companies like to talk about needing to recoup money they spent on the R&D for these drugs. However, the facts are that these companies will easily recoup their money, and turn a handy profit. The issue, then, comes down to a simple issue: What is more important, patents or saving lives?
On this issue, I stand firmly behind the other 52 nations in the UN.