Big Pharmas Profits Over People and How to Hit BackTony Cartalucci And while Slashdot claims that big pharma, for all its problems still is the number one creator of new drugs, it should be remembered that much of that money comes from federal grants, or in other words, out of the pocket of taxpayers. Once these new drugs are developed, big-pharmas business model is defended stalwartly by regulators, the media, and other facets of the corporate-financier oligarchy ruling over the Western world. The immense profits generated by the Wests health care racket are not merely helping recover RD costs the immensity of bigpharma in and of itself is testament of this. Image: Big pharma and big health there is nothing they can do that we the people cant do better. Unwrapping the enigma in which our health care exists is step one in medical liberation. Several barriers prevent this skewed formula from being balanced or indeed, tilted in favor of the people. For one, the notion of intellectual property prevents both the knowledge derived from research and development from passing into the hands of others who could potentially improve both the process of developing drugs as well as the very drugs produced in the first place. Since this knowledge is in part paid for by the people, it should be accessible to the people. Another barrier are regulatory bodies that do not in fact function for the benefit of the health and safety of the people, but the profits and reputations of the corporations utilizing them. The US FDA has literally approved poison for human consumption on more than one occasion not the result of incompetence, but the result of collusion with profiteering monopolies. Hitting Back Open Pharmaceuticals Circumventing these barriers will require creativity and ingenuity on the part of the people. Legislation simply will not work, since the legislators are easily and continuously bought off nor will protests. Instead, we must unwrap the enigma within which pharmaceutical RD exists, and begin developing our own medical treatments through professional cooperatives. There are already people working toward this goal multidisciplinary professionals seeking to circumvent the frustrating pipeline of pharmaceutical and treatment development. One of these people is Andrew Hessel, who is currently working on a project called the Pink Army Cooperative. Cancer is perhaps the most frustrating condition with which one can be inflicted. It is also a disease that generates millions for the health care industry and pharmaceutical giants despite the fact that treatments are generally ineffective, and worse still, devastating to those who take them before their inevitable demise. The Pink Army Cooperative seeks to leverage advances in biotechnology through a cooperative model of RD as well as implementation, to bring treatments that are both effective and affordable to the people who need them most. It short-circuits the political battle between big pharma and its victims, and goes straight for pragmatic solutions. From the Pink Army Cooperatives website, it states: It is highly recommended that readers continue on with the introduction, as well as browse the rest of the Pink Army Cooperative website. The promise offered by Hessels proposal is not merely theoretical. Cancer has been cured through the use of a molecular police force able to distinguish good cells from bad. Gene therapy carried out against a variety of blood cancers have already successfully (and so far permanently) cured 120 patients. AP reports in their article, GENE THERAPY SCORES BIG WINS AGAINST BLOOD CANCERS, that: While the advances being made against cancer right now are driven by institutions and government funding, the technology that is resulting will lay the infrastructure for Hessels Pink Army Cooperative. Manning that infrastructure may be ordinary people from around the world, being educated and trained in all matters biological at their local DIYbio laboratory. The diving costs and simplicity of modern biotechnology is opening doors to make it as accessible and affordable as personal computing. The killer app for personal biotechnology will surely be health care cooperatives that give the masses a truly appealing alternative to the variety of big-business solutions being offered now by immense pharmaceutical corporations (costly, ineffective drugs), insurance providers (Obama care, rationed care in the EU), and others parasitically profiteering from the misfortune of others. For readers today, looking into the world of DIYbio and finding a local laboratory (or starting one) can be the first step on the journey toward health care liberation. Like the media monopolies now crumbling in the face of advances in IT, pharmaceutical monopolies will likewise fall. Building bridges to the many dedicated professionals lining these industries will be essential in establishing alternatives that truly serve the best interests of the people. Remembering that biotechnology is a double-edged sword, able to cut in any direction depending on the hands that wield it, should encourage us to pick it up and ensure it stays in our hands. Technological disparity breeds injustice, and the only true means to reduce this disparity is to put technology into as many hands as possible. Tony Cartaluccis articles have appeared on many alternative media websites, including his own at Read other contributed articles by Tony Cartalucci here. 