From Peter Huber, a Forbes column, "Gouging the Drug Companies," November 24, 2005.

"Patent a miracle drug, choreograph the pricing just right and you recover your sunk costs efficiently, earn a good profit and move on to your next miracle. You can survive the arrival of me-too generic competitors: They put an end to your sunk-cost recovery only after the patent expires. Collectivized buying, however, imposes generic pricing from the get-go..."

From Tyler Cowan, a new paper on avian flu, including (from the executive summary) the radical idea that one "5. Respect intellectual property by buying the relevant drugs and vaccines at fair prices. Confiscating property rights would reduce the incentive for innovation the next time around."

From India, the news that generics will be permitted to make Tamiflu under license from Roche:

And from Promote the Progress, reports on the progress of negotiations with Roche.

And another cite, Jeanne Whalen, "Roche Says Three Asian Nations
Are Free to Manufacture Tamiflu," The Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2005, p. A4.

"Roche Holding AG, maker of the flu treatment Tamiflu, said it has told the governments of Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia that they are free to manufacture the medication without paying compensation to Roche because the drug isn't patent-protected in the three countries."