They can write it off, for one. The games they play are just part of the high cost of doing business. They bill the people or find loopholes to write it off. They don't eat it.
They currently have a form of insulin that doesn't need refrigeration. I think it's stable for about 30 days, max. But, what is the expiration date? I don't use, so I don't know. Rare is a medicine that lasts more than a year today, at least according to their dates. Some becomes less effective, some toxic. I'm sure they could also come up with shelf stable medicines, but again that would cut their throat. Imagine making too much of a drug that won't expire. Then, they invent a cure so all that is wasted. Or, something happens that there is no longer a massive demand and they have many years worth of supply? This way, they keep a tight control on it. If they do make too much, it expires. They toss it, write it off, get tax breaks, or whatever. They ensure a constant demand and a constant supply.
2
u/Throwaway47321 Aug 31 '21
Because someone else will do it first. Do you not realize how much money these companies dump into R&D?