Originally Posted by
Fugus
More than that, this would be one of the few things they really would look long term at. Lets say they cured cancer, that would be massive profits in the immediate short term, but past that quick spurt at the beginning, it would be a massive loss for the company after that point as they would no longer need steady treatments for many of their problems. It would turn a 20 year repeat customer into a one and done deal. Sure it would be very profitable, but would be a loss in money in the long term as far as they would be concerned. And then when the drug patent expired and generics could be made by others.....
Them making the cure for something major would be like an energy company inventing a zero point energy generator that could power your house, car, and everything in it while at the same time being small enough and cheap enough to have in everything. Sure they would make massive short term profits, but once the genie was out of the bottle, most of their long term profit in that venture would be gone after the hit market saturation.