Sawbones: Patents vs. Life-Saving Drugs

Government medical insurance is not exactly sexy, but it's an often overlooked issue when going to the voting booth. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the difference between the two, why one of them is controversial, and what changes are coming. And if they're still hard to differ ...  Show more

Horror movies and stories sure do have a lot of mad scientists and doctors running around. But should they still be practicing? Dr. Sydnee and Justin discuss Dr. Caligari, Dr. Jekyll, and more to see whether or not they should have their licenses removed – so maybe if we should b ...  Show more

If you had a rare disease and the only drug that could help you suddenly shot up in price how would you feel? What if your health service or insurer decided it was too expensive and they wouldn’t fund it any more? This is the problem facing some patients in the Netherlands.In ord ...  Show more

Between 2006 and 2016, the number of drug patents granted in the United States doubled -- but not because there was an explosion in invention or innovation. Drug companies have learned how to game the system, accumulating patents not for new medicines but for small changes to exi ...  Show more

In the first of two episodes this week, we're taking a deep dive into the pharmaceutical industry. How much does the medication you take actually cost? What if a company came along and bought the rights to a particular drug and started charging double, triple, or even 10,000 time ...  Show more