In short, the drug’s ultimate value cannot be measured in its immediate benefits to patients alone. The research that went into this drug — from basic science all the way through to the clinical trial — can have ripple effects. Work like this expands our understanding of how to harness a biological mechanism into a practical therapeutic. Who knows how many unexpected therapeutics based on RNA interference will build on the lessons learned in the process of producing this and other drugs like it?

Research is not just about what is discovered but facilitating others’ discovery. Groundbreaking work is needed to lay the foundation for someone else’s skyscraper: The wonder drugs of today are built on previous failures and marginal successes.

Perversely, curbing prices risks squeezing out this kind of innovation. The consequences will not be felt today, but it could be a disaster in years to come. Constrict that research pipeline, and we reduce our chance of future breakthroughs.

Of course, research that benefits many others, not just the researcher, is exactly what government should be funding. Such research is a public good, yet we are relying largely on the private sector to provide it. Huge pharmaceutical profits from overpriced drugs are an extremely indirect way to fund the foundational research.

Now let me be clear. I am not supporting the current setup. It’s an extremely indirect and wasteful way to build the foundation of knowledge. Most of the additional profits from overly lucrative drugs go elsewhere, not to research.

Even the dollars that are funneled toward research and development do not go toward the cutting-edge foundational research that others can build upon. Worst of all, even when the money does go toward such research, no one else may ever benefit from it. The Inclisiran trial was published in The New England Journal of Medicine, but pharmaceutical research is not always so public: Results may never be published. Hidden discoveries or failures do not contribute to the public good.

Despite these glaring problems, current policy choices must confront the real world we are living in. In the current situation, drug pricing and research funding are intertwined.