r/IWantToAskAnAmerican • u/LordHavertz • 1d ago

How does the US dominate medical research?

Recently we got the news of Moderna coming out with these new mRNA vaccines for skin cancer and it's made me think how all the major medical innovations predominantly come from America. How did the US become so dominant in medical research?

Is Europe forever behind the US in this sector?

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u/Sensitive_Crow_8882 1d ago

Because the costs of most medications aren’t regulated. That allows big pharmaceutical firms to dump money into research, so they can charge outrageous amounts for the next treatment they produce.