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249 points randycupertino | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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stego-tech ◴[] No.45949690[source]
I feel kinda bad for the writer, because it's a good question: no, curing patients is not a good business model, just like public transit is not a good business model.

What a lot of folks neglect are N+1-order effects, because those are harder to quantify and fail to reach the predetermined decision some executive or board or shareholder has already made. Is curing patients a bad business model? Sure, for the biotech company it is, but those cured patients are far more likely to go on living longer, healthier lives, and in turn contribute additional value to society - which will impact others in ways that may also create additional value. That doesn't even get into the jobs and value created through the R&D process, testing, manufacturing, logistics of delivery, ongoing monitoring, etc. As long as the value created is more than the cost of the treatment, then it's a net-gain for the economy even if it's a net loss for that singular business.

If all you're judging is the first-order impacts on a single business, you're missing the forest for the trees.

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tptacek ◴[] No.45950199[source]
Saying that curing diseases is a bad business model is like saying discovering the world's largest gold mine would be a bad business because you'd eventually run out of gold. The underlying argument doesn't make sense.
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navigate8310 ◴[] No.45950280[source]
When the supply runs dry, demand will naturally increase. Hoarders will be golden at that stage.
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1. nvader ◴[] No.45950878{3}[source]
"I've seen gluts not followed by shortages, but I've never seen a shortage not followed by a glut."

-- Nassim Taleb