Do a search of Alexion (the manufacturer of Strensiq in this article) and Soliris, another orphan drug of Alexion's. Most of the R&D on that drug (between 80-90%) was done by University researchers, students and/or post-doctorate fellows, all supported by PUBLIC funds. About 2 years ago, Canada's watchdog on drug prices accused Alexion of charging more for Soliris in Canada than anywhere else in the world: around $700,000 per patient per year. Cost for Alexion to manufacture - less than 1% of that. And it should be noted that many drugs are reliant on the efforts of publicly funded research at educational institutions.