An interesting article in the Financial Times last month suggested a way of stockpiling medicines for emergencies without excessive cost. James Love, director of the Consumer Project on Technology, suggests:

a better way of thinking about the management of emergency medical stockpiles - one that would change the incentives to protect us from anthrax, avian flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome and other emerging public health threats, at least for medicines that already have commercial markets for other uses.

The proposal is to permit governments to acquire medicines freely for stockpiles from generic suppliers, on the condition that if the medicines were used to treat people, the patent owner would receive royalties. This makes it much cheaper to acquire the stockpiles but also increases the value of the patented invention, as long as there is some probability that the emergency use will occur.