Treatments and Cures

My wife and I were talking about stem cell research and an interesting topic came up- the distinction between a cure and a treatment. A cure eliminates the underlying problem while a treatment just mitigates the symptoms. Naturally the patient prefers a cure. In the absense of a cure, a treatment is the next best thing. We were also talking about how drug companies haven't invested in stem cell research, and why that might be. My wife made the excellent point that stem cells are a cure, and cures don't make money the way that treatments do. A cure is administered once, while a treatment is administered indefinitely. Hence, drug companies and anyone else who makes money off of people being sick (doctors, hospitals, etc) have a strong financial disincentive to find cures for diseases. Notice how crowded the market is with blood pressure medications, antidepressants, and other treatments that don't solve the underlying problems.