“So how can we get the
drugs we need without magically transforming the industry that develops them?
The key is to reward companies for creating substantial public-health benefits.
And the simplest way to do this would be to offer prizes for new drugs.
Outterson describes one scenario: “The government would make a payment or a
stream of payments to the company, and in exchange the company would give up
the right to sell the product.” The drug company would get paid, and would
avoid all the expenses of trying to push a new product (which you don’t want
with a last-resort antibiotic, anyway). Society would get a new drug, and
public-health officials would be able to control how it was promoted and used.”