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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Is the pharmaceutical industry oriented towards treating diseases instead of preventing them?

By Esther Tsvayg
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YES

The pharmaceutical industry in recent decades has been better incentivized to develop treatments rather than preventative drugs, reflecting the structure of public and private health-insurance payments and other market factors.

The vaccine market reflects these influences. Vaccine research, development, testing and manufacturing is expensive—but because vaccines are typically needed just once the potential revenue is much smaller than for therapeutic drugs. To overcome these factors and accelerate development of a vaccine against the coronavirus, the U.S. government has set aside up to $18 billion.

An Oxford-affiliated journal noted in 2002 that pharmaceutical companies are incentivized to develop drugs to treat more advanced cancers, not prevent them at early stages. Companies aren't sure how preventative treatments would be evaluated and approved, or how they would market them.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
National Library of Medicine: Drug versus vaccine investment—comparing economic incentives
HealthAffairs: Why are pharmaceutical companies gradually abandoning vaccines?
Bloomberg: Trump administration dips into protective gear, CDC funds to fund vaccine push
Oxford University Press: Journal of the National Cancer Institute—Investing in prevention
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.