History Main / WithholdingTheCure

As you may know, this trope is one of the biggest conspiracy theories in the world: the belief that "Big Pharma" has developed cures for AIDS, cancer, the common cold and si on,[[note]]despite the common cold and cancer both not being a single disease but a ''type'' of disease[[/note]] but would rather sell treatments that don't actually cure anything just to maximize profits -- even although, due to the way both medicine and diseases work, it would be highly debatable whether commercializing the cure would not be at least just as profitable.[[note]]Depends on the individual theory and the extent of its claims, of course, but the standard variation summed above is basically describing a self-defeating plan. Expensive, less effective treatments have those exact problems - not everybody in the world can afford them, and given that not even people who can are guaranteed to survive, that's also one less consumer for every patient dying, not to mention those who are discouraged from trying to get it for this reason. Meanwhile, a cheaper, clearly reliable cure would ensure a much wider base of consumers in every possible range, and because people can have cancer more than once in their lives (it's common, actually), patients alive and happy would have a chance to need the cure again rather than dropping out forever from the buyers' list.[[/note]] As such, [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease no real-life examples]] unless you have documentation of actual cure-withholding, not just speculation and people's perceptions.

As you may know, this trope is one of the biggest conspiracy theories in the world: the belief that "Big Pharma" has developed cures for AIDS, cancer, the common cold[[note]]despite the common cold and cancer both not being a single disease but a ''type'' of disease[[/note]], and so on, but would rather sell treatments that don't actually cure anything just to maximize profits. As such, [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease no real-life examples]] unless you have documentation of actual cure-withholding, not just speculation and people's perceptions.

* According to Wikipedia, part of the reason we don't yet have a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caries_vaccine vaccine for tooth decay and cavities]] despite people investigating this since the 1970s is the "lack of strong economic interests." Basically, because dentists would make less money.

* Carter Pewterschmidt of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' discovered a {{cure for cancer}} in the 1990s but is keeping it to himself purely because treating a cancer patient for the rest of their lives will earn far more profit than curing them with a single treatment. When Brian and Stewie expose this secret, Lois makes Carter give his word to release the cure. [[KickTheDog He immediately goes back on his word and flat-out admits he lied to Lois's face when she calls him out on it.]]

* [[PlayerCharacter Commander Shepard]] can do this to the entire Krogan species in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''. To deal with a galaxy wide threat, Shepard needs to obtain military support from other species including the ProudWarriorRaceGuys the Krogan. The Krogan demand a cure for the genophage - a DepopulationBomb that has artificially dampened their population growth rate for over a millennium, ensuring that only one in one thousand of their eggs hatch into younglings. With the aid of a salarian [[note]]The inventors of the genophage[[/note]] doctor and a Krogan female victim of horrific medical experiments, you obtain a cure. However, just before you land on the Krogan homeworld to deploy that cure, the Dalatrass of the salarians implores you to withhold this cure in exchange for salarian military support. You can, if you choose to, sabotage the cure and trick the Krogan. Although, based on certain other choices you may have made, this can either be a brilliant strategic move, or end very poorly.

As you may know, this trope is one of the biggest [[ConspiracyTheories/HToN conspiracy theories]] in the world: the belief that "Big Pharma" has developed cures for AIDS, cancer, the common cold[[note]]despite the common cold and cancer both not being a single disease but a ''type'' of disease[[/note]], and so on, but would rather sell treatments that don't actually cure anything just to maximize profits. As such, [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease no real-life examples]] unless you have documentation of actual cure-withholding, not just speculation and people's perceptions.

* ''Series/LeverageRedemption:'' In "The Card Game Job," Cordozar's pharmaceutical company has the cure to a potentially lethal medical condition. He suppresses it so that he can force the victims and their families to spend their whole lives paying for treatment that they need to come back for again and again while he keeps on collecting grant money from the government to finance the battle against that disease.
* ''{{Series/Merlin 2008}}'': Uther does this when Merlin is poisoned, intent on teaching Arthur a lesson.

** Played with in one episode ("Blood Brothers"), when an attempt to create a safe and reliable KnockoutGas for crowd control results in a drug that seems to boost body's ability to fight off any disease or toxin. The chimp that it's tested on is able to take several shots of cyanide without a problem. The scientist's brother is a CorruptCorporateExecutive, who immediately clamps down on the supposed panacea, claiming that it's likely to cause overcrowding, as people will no longer be dying at the same rate, while still breeding like rabbits. The scientist treats it as an attempt to make money, even though it's a clear case of JerkassHasAPoint (i.e. without PopulationControl, any such cure would be really bad for humanity). The exec brother then uses the drug on himself in order to treat his Parkinson's. However, at the end, it's discovered that the supposed "cure" is actually CastFromLifespan, draining the body of all resources, until the person (or the above-mentioned chimp) just drops dead in a matter of days, completely spent. The exec brother spends the rest of his life in a sterile life support chamber, unable to move, as his body is no longer able to sustain itself.
** Inverted in another episode ("The New Breed"), where a scientist is perfectly willing to release his new [[{{Nanomachines}} nanite]]-based cure that would make cancer (or any other cell-related problem) a thing of the past, only to meet opposition from people claiming that he's playing God. On the other hand, he's only at the testing phase, and the "cure" isn't even close to being ready for distribution yet. A friend of his ends up injecting himself with nanites in order to cure his terminal-stage cancer, which works at first (even fixing his poor eyesight), but the untested nanites then start making "[[BodyHorror modifications]]" to his body, reacting to what they perceive are flaws (e.g. [[ApparentlyHumanMerfolk inability to breathe underwater]], [[EyesDoNotBelongThere limited vision]], and [[ShockAndAwe need for additional defense mechanisms]]). In the end, the scientist is forced to kill the poor sap (at his own request) and burns down his lab in the process, forever destroying the potential cure.

** Played with in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Symbiosis": the Ornarans claim they need felicium to treat a plague that is affecting their world. Their only source of it is through the Brekkians, and this is the only commerce between the worlds. Dr. Crusher determines that the felicium is an addictive narcotic and that the plague has long been cured. While the [[AlienNonInterferenceClause Prime Directive]] forbids [[TheCaptain Picard]] from revealing the truth to the wronged race, he finds a way to correct the situation by refusing to repair their few remaining ships. Without the ships, they will have no way to get the drug and will eventually realize they're not actually sick.
** In ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': "Night": The Malon's [[PlanetOfHats hat]] is looking for a LandfillBeyondTheStars to dump radioactive antimatter waste from inferior warp technology. The current captain's dumping ground is an inhabited is inhabited so the crew look for a better way: Federation warp technology, which recycles its theta radiation. He rejects this as it would put him out of business. Chakotay points out that he's throwing away a great business opportunity, but he counters that he is already making lots of money thanks to his secret dumping ground, and would rather bet on what he has, than risk the financial chaos caused by the introduction of a world-changing technology. They never try this tactic with any other Malon captain, presumably assuming they would reject it for the same reason.
** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'': [[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS01E13DearDoctor "Dear Doctor"]]: Archer decides to let an entire species die from a disease that Phlox could cure so that another race on the planet could have an "evolutionary breakthrough."

** Assuming you somehow manage to get your potential cure or vaccine through testing, it's often actually very limited in what it actually is capable of doing, such as [[http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=117961 this vaccine for herpes that provides women and only women with some protection]]. The overall expectation is that you can be relatively certain that a certain part of the population will [[TooDumbToLive believe it is a]] MagicAntidote, and with some diseases the legal risk posed by this particular group is bad enough you may not even be able to find enough funding to ''do'' human trials.
*** ''Extremely'' [[ParanoiaFuel paranoia-inducing]] given that Jonas Salk, the man who annihilated Polio, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Salk#AIDS_vaccine_work spent the last fifteen years of his life]] attempting to do the same to AIDS--but was unable to finish his research, due to the inability to get ''[[CorruptCorporateExecutive insurance]].''
* Averted by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Salk Jonas Salk.]] He had developed the first effective vaccine against Polio which was ravaging the United States and other countries at the time. He refused to patent, so that it could be made at cost, and made Polio something that only happens in third-world countries.

** Thousands of Conspiracy theories sustain this for every single thing that doesn't have a cure.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': During his reign of Drum Island, Wapol removed as many doctors he could find from his kingdom, save his own personal staff of 20. If any citizen needed medical attention, they had to ''beg'' him for it.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_syphilis_experiment Tuskegee syphilis experiment.]] A clinical study run by the US government for ''fifty years'' on the progression of syphilis in southern Blacks. When the study started in 1932, it involved treating syphilis with an expensive and not-very-effective treatment. When the funding got reduced, they couldn't afford the treatment. Instead, they just continued to study the patients, while telling them they were being treated so they could study the progression of the disease, without informing them exactly what they had. Then penicillin became available in the mid-1940s, and by 1947 was recognized as a cheap and effective cure -- but the doctors in charge realized that curing the patients would put an end to their research. Not only did they withhold treatment, but ''they refused to tell the subjects what they were sick with'', allowing the disease to spread in the process -- and the study continued until '''1972'''. [[PyrrhicVillainy This pretty much destroyed any future attempts at using science to justify racism.]] It showed that black people also were affected by the disease exactly the same that white people were. Before this, it was almost accepted that white people were medically different from black people and therefore superior or such nonsense.

* ''Literature/TheLunarChronicles'': Used in ''Literature/{{Cinder}}'', and quite cruelly at that, by the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Lunar Queen]] [[ManipulativeBitch Levana]]. There is [[ThePlague a plague]] sweeping [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething Prince Kai]]'s kingdom, infecting thousands and thousands of people, including his own father, the Emperor. Just hours after his father's death (which was slow and painful) Levana arrives, offering one vial of the antidote — just enough to cure one adult male. She offers her [[BlatantLies sincerest sympathies]] that she arrived just a little too late for the cure to save Kai's father. She continues to withhold it as a way of [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe forcing Kai to marry her]] and subsequently giving her control of his kingdom. Making it even worse, [[spoiler:the Lunars are the ones responsible for the plague in the first place, albeit unintentionally, a fact of which Levana is well aware]].

* ''Literature/LunarChronicles'': Used in ''Literature/{{Cinder}}'', and quite cruelly at that, by the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Lunar Queen]] [[ManipulativeBitch Levana]]. There is [[ThePlague a plague]] sweeping [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething Prince Kai]]'s kingdom, infecting thousands and thousands of people, including his own father, the Emperor. Just hours after his father's death (which was slow and painful) Levana arrives, offering one vial of the antidote — just enough to cure one adult male. She offers her [[BlatantLies sincerest sympathies]] that she arrived just a little too late for the cure to save Kai's father. She continues to withhold it as a way of [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe forcing Kai to marry her]] and subsequently giving her control of his kingdom. Making it even worse, [[spoiler:the Lunars are the ones responsible for the plague in the first place, albeit unintentionally, a fact of which Levana is well aware]].

** Played with in one episode ("Blood Brothers"), when an attempt to create a safe and reliable KnockoutGas for crowd control results in a drug that seems to boost body's ability to fight off any disease or toxin UpToEleven. The chimp that it's tested on is able to take several shots of cyanide without a problem. The scientist's brother is a CorruptCorporateExecutive, who immediately clamps down on the supposed panacea, claiming that it's likely to cause overcrowding, as people will no longer be dying at the same rate, while still breeding like rabbits. The scientist treats it as an attempt to make money, even though it's a clear case of JerkassHasAPoint (i.e. without PopulationControl, any such cure would be really bad for humanity). The exec brother then uses the drug on himself in order to treat his Parkinson's. However, at the end, it's discovered that the supposed "cure" is actually CastFromLifespan, draining the body of all resources, until the person (or the above-mentioned chimp) just drops dead in a matter of days, completely spent. The exec brother spends the rest of his life in a sterile life support chamber, unable to move, as his body is no longer able to sustain itself.

* This is one of many conspiracies present in ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' - taken UpToEleven as the people who control the treatment also ''created the plague.''

* Wapol of ''Manga/OnePiece'', during his reign of Drum Island, removed as many doctors he could find from his kingdom, save his own personal staff of 20. If any citizen needed medical attention, they had to ''beg'' him for it.
* The first season of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' deals with this in the form of the Murai Vaccine, a cure for an otherwise-incurable disease called cyberbrain sclerosis, and the various conspiracies at work to keep the vaccine from being approved for the general public in favor of {{Nanomachine|s}}-based treatments - ''ineffective'' ones that nonetheless serve as excellent [[TestedOnHumans test cases]] for technologies that help JapanTakesOverTheWorld. One such is a subversion of the [[spoiler:EnhanceButton]]. Worst part? {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s and {{Corrupt Politician}}s use it freely in secrecy, saving themselves while using the citizenry as guinea pigs. This story arc is based on the Maruyama Vaccine, an actual series of events that occurred in Japan in the 1960-70's.

* In the MarvelUniverse:
** Wakanda (the home nation of the ComicBook/BlackPanther) has had the cures for [[{{Panacea}} pretty much everything]] (along with free energy, spaceflight, etc.) for centuries but refuses to release them, at least when written by Creator/ReginaldHudlin. InUniverse, they justify this by [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsk4mg_black-panther-motion-comic-episode-3_shortfilms claiming]] that they're not "ahead" of the world so much that everyone ''else'' has fallen ''behind''; basically, they're saying the rest of the world is doing this trope to ''themselves'' by not taking the long view, instead focusing their efforts on [[{{Realpolitik}} political advantage]] and [[CapitalismIsBad economic dominance]].
-->The fact that every discussion here is framed in terms of profit and power says it all. You could have made half these breakthroughs yourselves, but there is too much money to be made in ''misery.'' Why cure a disease when people ''pay'' for medicine? Why provide cheap energy...?

** In ''Comicbook/DoctorStrange: The Oath'', Doc retrieves a magical elixir that has the power to "erase what troubles the mind of man", hoping it can save Wong's life. It turns out to be the CureForCancer (and [[{{Panacea}} everything else]]), which causes a corrupt pharmaceuticals company to send an assassin to shoot Strange and steal the elixir. For extra points, Wong is dying of cancer and being kept alive with "Timelozar", which is manufactured solely by "Timely Pharmaceuticals", the exact same company that sent the assassin.
** ConquerorFromTheFuture the Scarlet Centurion has cured cancer, and offers it to ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme'' member, Tom Thumb in exchange for poisoning fellow team member, Hyperion. He refuses and the Centurion gets a chuckle out of the torment he caused.
** C-list character Cardiac became a vigilante/superhero when his brother died because of corporations using this policy.

* Following ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'s return to the land of the living in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'', he believes that ComicBook/LexLuthor does have a shred of humanity left in him and seeks to bring it out by helping him cure his ailing sister. He does so, lets her enjoy her freedom... then ''restores her illness'', promising that, as long as Franchise/{{Superman}} lives, no one gets what he can create.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}}'' when the ComicBook/TeenTitans break into one of Lex Lutor's secret labs in order to steal a cure for what's currently killing Superboy Speedy asks them to keep an eye out for anything labeled "cure for AIDS" and everyone agrees to, noting that it would be in character for Lex to hide such a discovery since they're literally there to steal a cure Lex kept secret. Unfortunately the lab they're in has a distinct focus on Kryptonian and Coluan biology rather than human.

* In the 2001 Dean Cain movie ''Phase IV'', investigation on some mysterious murders leads to the discovery that a laboratory had discovered a cure for AIDS, but decided to murder everyone involved to keep selling existing treatments.

* In ''Film/Ultraviolet2006'', [[YouCanPanicNow demonizing]] [[OurVampiresAreDifferent hemophages]] as monsters instead of treating them as victims of disease enabled the Evil Drug Company that has become the "Militant Medical Establishment" known as the [=ArchMinistry=]. Unfortunately, they did too good a job of hunting them and, by the time of the movie, needed a new threat to "protect" the world from -- a "human antigen", cultivated inside of a LivingMacGuffin. Once it's released, people will have to line up at [=ArchMinistry=] to get the cure or die. Cue GunKata.

* According to Wikipedia, part of the reason we don't yet have a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caries_vaccine vaccine for tooth decay and cavities]] despite people investigating this since the 1970s is the lack of "strong economic interests." Basically, because dentists would make less money.

As you may know, this trope is one of the biggest [[ConspiracyTheories/HToN conspiracy theories]] in the world: the belief that "Big Pharma" has developed cures for AIDS, cancer, the common cold[[note]]despite the common cold and cancer both not being a single disease but a ''type'' of disease[[/note]], and so on, but would rather sell treatments that don't actually cure anything just to maximize profits. This assumes that all countries in the world use the American healthcare model, even though countries with socialized healthcare are very much interested in cures for chronic ailments to reduce the tax burden their systems create. Within the US, it assumes the people working within Big Pharma are simply saving these cures for themselves and their families, even though rich people die from cancer and other illnesses all the time. The people who push this theory the most are either not very knowledgeable about the subject, or they're trying to [[SnakeOilSalesman sell you something themselves.]] Also, hiding a cure would be HIDEOUSLY unprofitable, since A) that would create a huge chance for someone else to create a knock-off (to patent a cure, they would have to admit it), B) developing any drug is extremely expensive (not just developing, but necessarily testing it with large numbers of animal, and later human, test subjects), so why would anyone research and develop something they don't actually plan to market, and C) the benefits of fame and PR that would come from being "The company that cured cancer/AIDS/whatever!" would be immense. Basically, [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease no real-life examples]] unless you have documentation of actual cure-withholding, not just speculation and people's perceptions.

->'''Chuck''': A cure? You've had a cure all this time?\\
'''Marian Mallon''': Of course, it wouldn't have been in our interests to release it.

* The first season of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' deals with this in the form of the Murai Vaccine, a cure for an otherwise-incurable disease called cyberbrain sclerosis, and the various conspiracies at work to keep the vaccine from being approved for the general public in favor of {{Nanomachine}}-based treatments - ''ineffective'' ones that nonetheless serve as excellent [[TestedOnHumans test cases]] for technologies that help JapanTakesOverTheWorld. One such is a subversion of the [[spoiler:EnhanceButton]]. Worst part? {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s and {{Corrupt Politician}}s use it freely in secrecy, saving themselves while using the citizenry as guinea pigs. This story arc is based on the Maruyama Vaccine, an actual series of events that occurred in Japan in the 1960-70's.

* ''Series/V1983'': As part of a [[PersecutedIntellectuals campaign against scientists]], it's claimed medical researchers have withheld cancer treatments to insure they keep getting research money.

* In ''{{Film/Ultraviolet}}'', [[YouCanPanicNow demonizing]] [[OurVampiresAreDifferent hemophages]] as monsters instead of treating them as victims of disease enabled the Evil Drug Company that has become the "Militant Medical Establishment" known as the [=ArchMinistry=]. Unfortunately, they did too good a job of hunting them and, by the time of the movie, needed a new threat to "protect" the world from -- a "human antigen", cultivated inside of a LivingMacGuffin. Once it's released, people will have to line up at [=ArchMinistry=] to get the cure or die. Cue GunKata.

Good news! There is finally a cure for that horrible disease. Too bad the cure is owned by PeaceAndLoveIncorporated, who [[TooGoodForExploiters refuse to distribute it because they believe they can squeeze more money out of people who remain sick, or by the evil overlord who ''wants'' the people to die off so he can move in and occupy the land.]]

Good news! There is finally a cure for that horrible disease. Too bad the cure is owned by PeaceAndLoveIncorporated, who refuse to distribute it because they believe they can squeeze more money out of people who remain sick, or by the evil overlord who ''wants'' the people to die off so he can move in and occupy the land.

* TAO of ''ComicBook/WildCATs'' claims to have the cures for AIDS and all forms of cancer, as well as a genetic patent on a strain of corn that will end world hunger forever. He uses these as bargaining chips when he gets in trouble. [[spoiler:Majestic doesn't care.]]

As you may know, this trope is one of the biggest [[ConspiracyTheories/HToN conspiracy theories]] in the world: the belief that "Big Pharma" has developed cures for AIDS, cancer, the common cold[[note]]despite the common cold and cancer both not being a single disease but a ''type'' of disease[[/note]], and so on, but would rather sell treatments that don't actually cure anything just to maximize profits. This assumes that all countries in the world use the American healthcare model, even though countries with socialized healthcare are very much interested in cures for chronic ailments to reduce the tax burden their systems create. Within the US, it assumes the people working within Big Pharma are simply saving these cures for themselves and their families, even though rich people die from cancer and other illnesses all the time. The people who push this theory the most are either not very knowledgeable about the subject, or they're trying to [[SnakeOilSalesman sell you something themselves.]] Also, hiding a cure would be HIDEOUSLY unprofitable, since A) that would create a huge chance for someone else to create a knock-off (to patent a cure, they would have to admit it), B) developing any drug is extremely expensive (not just developing, but necessarily testing it with large numbers of animal, and later human, test subjects), so why would anyone research and develop something they don't actually plan to market, and C) the benefits of fame and PR that would come from being "The company that cured cancer/AIDS/whatever!" would be immense. For the sake of [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment cautious editing,]] no RealLife examples unless you have documentation of actual cure-withholding, not just speculation and people's perceptions.