Simple
Wednesday, February 4 2009
Paul Stoffels is the head of research and development for Johnson & Johnson; speaking at Davos, he declared that “all the simple diseases have been solved”. For those of you taking Remicade – a J&J product – I’ll let you decide whether or not your disease is a) simple, and/or b) solved.
Note that his claim implies all solved diseases are simple, and all unsolved diseases are not simple. But I doubt polio was considered a simple disease until after it was solved. And I’m sure some of the diseases that are yet unsolved will turn out to be rather simple. Stomach ulcers were not thought a simple problem – until H. Pylori was discovered to play a role.
Stoffels is offering an excuse, not an explanation. He’s rationalizing a business model that depends on blockbuster drugs – like Remicade – that rack up massive profits, rather than providing massive benefits. One could imagine an economy in which the profits a company receives are directly related to the benefit it provides – but that’s not the economy we live in. Stoffels can’t admit as much, so instead he blames the diseases for being so darn difficult.
(via Gooznews)
