Thanks - I have been called a greedy bastard on here recently for wanting maximum return on my investment by a fellow poster. I make no judgement on them as people, nor on their reasons for investing or their moral standing - but would make the factual observation that there are more direct ways of providing assistance to those in need that don't involve enriching yourself in the process.
Candidly, I actually think there is a lot of posturing that happens across heaps of Pharma/Bio forums on HC. I could be entirely wrong and ultimately there is no judgement on my end - each to their own - I just find it interesting to observe and found the exchange interesting.
I actually had a related discussion on the weekend with a family member who once had a significant holding here but sold for ethical reasons.
As a person, they are extremely ethical and have a real social conscious / service bent - they volunteer in 3rd world countries etc. They did wonderful things with the proceeds of sale but choose not to invest in Bio anymore due to ethical issues around patent protection and the restricted access patents can cause.
My view is that it's not unethical to invest in Bio because I don't view Bio as the problem. I think if you take the view the Bio investing is unethical because of the associated patent protection issues, then I think the solution is a more socialised approach where governments (taxpayers) fund public institutions to conduct research and develop treatments that are provided to those same taxpayers, free of charge - or at very nominal rates, so as to cover manufacturing costs etc. I am actually somewhat sympathetic to that view because I often find myself debating whether healthcare is a right and often go through the thought experiment of what the world would look like were all medical research publicly funded but ultimately am quite a cynic and capitalist in equal measure and believe that human nature will ultimately win out in the end and profit / power will prevail.
On reflection, I actually think Australia has the mix kind of right with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme that provides us with access to necessary treatments at reasonable prices, while rewarding the endeavour, effort and outlay of the Pharma company that developed the treatment - seems to me to be a reasonable middle ground.
Sorry - I digressed but find the subject interesting.
(20min delay)