Originally Posted by Bob Dawson

Right you are. Pharma spends one hundred billion a year on research. It is slippery money looking for high profits. Marketing strategy is to crank out slight variations of drugs that are already hugely popular, slightly better than a placebo. Has to be patentable, or will not be researched much.

Let there be one big home run with a (patented) alternative treatment, and billions of dollars in investment money will flow that way.

I have no resentment against someone getting insanely rich by curing any disease. The resentment is when they get insanely rich by keeping the disease going.

It leaves the problem that there are potential remedies all over the place, but if they grow freely, cannot be patented, so the research money won't go there.
Cure any major disease and health care costs will plunge.
PD drugs sell for three billion dollars per year. So offer 5 years of that to anyone who can eradicate the disease. A reward of 15 billion dollars to cure PD. With or without a patent.
The reward money is nothing compared to the long-term costs of the disease, and it could go to somebody who researches in a totally different direction. Impractical, of course, but you see the idea - if it's about cash, make it clear they will get the cash; but equal opportunity for research into ANYTHING that works. And maybe a $15 billion reward would attract a few more adventurers, or focus a few more minds.
Of course I might be jealous if Rick wins it.