In a textbook free market, “fair” is whatever the market will bear.
But these drugs don’t fit that model.
Patents protect them from competition, allowing their producers to price them high.
On the other hand, because of their high upfront development costs, pricing the drugs very low, at marginal cost, would be unrealistic.
If that’s all the manufacturers earned from them, they would have no incentive to stay in business and develop new drugs.
Persons:
Biden, Seshamani —
Organizations:
Big Pharma, pharma, Producers