Top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2007 (from time.com)
#1 Study showing circumsized men less likely to get aids. It was a government study, but they didn’t really create anything new, just studied some data.
#2 GeneSearch BLN Assay. Private company created a new tool for breast exams.
#3 Human bird flu vaccine, developed by private company Sanofi Pasteur.
#4 Weight loss drug Alli, developed by private company GlaxoSmithKline.
#5 Type 2 Diabetes gene research from US and Finland. Lots of universites involved here.
#6 No more periods drug Lybrel, developed by private company Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
#7 Relief from Fibromyalgia with drug Lyrica, developed by private company Pfizer.
#8 Early stage test for lung cancer called LC Detect, developed by private company Panacea Pharmaceuticals.
#9 New source of stem cells. Not sure who gets credit for this one.
#10 Benefit of vitamin D study. Goverment agency study.
So looks like good old capitalism does just fine for coming up with the latest breakthroughs, especially on the side of actually creating new products like what will be done using nanotechnology.