PRINCETON – In an ideal world, the amount of money we spend on medical research to prevent or cure a disease would be proportional to its seriousness and the number of people who suffer from it. In the real world, 90% of the money spent on medical research is focused on conditions that are responsible for just 10% of the deaths and disability caused by diseases globally.
换句话说，世界卫生组织称之为“全球疾病负担”的十分之九的疾病仅有世界上十分之一的医疗研究在为之努力。结果是，每年数以百万计的人死于没有新药可治的疾病，而药品公司却投入数十亿的资金来开发治疗勃起功能不良和脱发的药品。