quote:
Originally posted by Trevormkidd:
[b]Each year more money is spent on homeopathy even though each year more evidence shows that it doesn't have any effect.[ 13 April 2008: Message edited by: Trevormkidd ][/b]
A great deal of big pharma's profits surprisingly enough is not reinvested in basic R&D of new drugs. A large percentage of our consumer contributions for their products goes into marketing. And a significant percentage of the money that [i]is[/i] reinvested in research goes into clinical trials to prove secondary benefits for old drugs developed years ago. They can charge people more for the same snake oil that way.
There are scientists who have admitted big pharma sinks a lot of money wastefully into non-leading edge research and leaving highest risk research to publicly-funded agencies and academic institutions. They've been feeding at the public troff for a long time. Big pharma operates on the basis that if it's high risk R&D, better to let the taxpayers shoulder the risk until such time as the public pear tree produces fruit. At some point, the lowest hanging fruit is plucked by private enterprise for a lick and a promise to provide fruit salad at an affordable cost to everyone. And then a parasitic U.S. corporate health care insurance brigade latches on for the ride.
So until taxpayer-funded research produces a psi equivalent of AZT or Taxol, private enterpriZe won't be too interested in coughing up money for basic research into psi phenomenon.
[ 13 April 2008: Message edited by: Fidel ]