Creating Disease to Sell Drugs

Mother Jones' assistant online editor Bradford Plumer writes in-depth about the creation of diseases by pharmaceutical companies, in large part due to the patent system, which offers a strong financial incentive to find new diseases for old drugs. Plumer also notes that the credibility of scientists who are sincerely trying to understand disease is compromised as so many of their peers are lured in by the lucrative offers of the drug companies to promote their products, whether or not patients really need them. See Licensed to Ill for the whole article.