Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** Jan. 21, 2025
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Outliers Skew Discussions About Prescription Drug Development Costs
The typical cost of developing new medications may not be as high as generally believed. According to a new RAND study, a few ultra-costly medications skew public discussions about pharmaceutical research and development costs.
Our researchers assessed spending on research and development for 38 drugs recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. When excluding just two drugs from this assessment, the average cost of developing a new drug was 26 percent lower, dropping from $1.3 billion to $950 million.
These findings suggest that policy discussions may improve if they consider the median cost of bringing new drugs to market rather than the average.
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How Might a Postwar Russia Try to Rebuild Its Military?
Much remains uncertain about how or when Russia's war in Ukraine might end. But one thing is clear: When the fighting finally stops, Russia will attempt to regenerate its military capabilities and systems--and rethink how it uses its armed forces to counter perceived threats and achieve strategic objectives. A new RAND analysis outlines four approaches that Moscow may take to rebuild its military. Notably, the authors write that Russia's relationships with China, Iran, Belarus, and North Korea will likely play a key role in shaping the reconstitution process. And even a partially reconstituted Russian military still poses a serious threat to the United States and the West.
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Expanding Funding for School Meals
Children can consume between 19 and 50 percent of their daily calories at school. But not all students receive equitable access to nutritious school meals. That's because under-resourced school districts and schools often struggle to implement meal programs. According to RAND's Emma Kassan and Andrea Richardson, schools may need new funding sources. For example, revenue from taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and adult-use cannabis taxes could help revive universal school meals and summer food programs. "Finding new ways to fund school nutrition programs could help ensure that no child goes hungry," they write.
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** RAND Recommends
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- The Israel-Hamas ceasefire is cause for relief in the short term, says RAND's Raphael Cohen. However, "many of the big issues about who will govern Gaza, what the future of Hamas is, and how to provide security for Israeli and Palestinians still remain unanswered."
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- In the Washington Post, RAND's Sarah Hunter, discusses the impact of the wildfires on homelessness in Los Angeles: "There are likely going to be more people living in their cars for the next while," she says.
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- China and Pakistan have historically maintained a strategic partnership designed to endure any hardship. But relations have soured recently, RAND's Derek Grossman writes in Nikkei Asia.
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** Events
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Admissions Webinar: Master of National Security Policy Faculty Panel
Thursday, January 23, 2025 (Online)
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Policy Lab: AI and Homeland Security
Thursday, January 30, 2025 (Online)
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