Radio Interview: Profits in the Pharma Industry

I gave a radio interview about high profit margins in the pharma industry and their justifiability (or lack thereof). From the written notice on the programme:

“But are these enormous profits ethically justified? Juri Viehoff, who specialised in financial markets at the Ethics Centre of the University of Zurich, does not consider high profits in the pharmaceutical industry inherently unethical. However, prevailing market conditions can lead to exploitative or unfair business practices. 'On the one hand, these are products that people urgently need, and on the other, individual companies hold monopoly positions.' High prices that customers must pay without being able to choose alternatives and without understanding how those prices are set. High prices that generate large profits at the expense of third parties. Business ethicist Viehoff considers this ethically problematic.”

You can listen to the programme here.