[quote=harvey]If it really cures cancer you could likely get FDA approval.[/quote]
Assuming a compound cures cancer (and that the side effects did not overwhelm the therapeutic effect) there is no question you could get FDA approval – if you pay for all of the clinical trials that are required (which costs hundreds of millions of dollars). For example: http://bit.ly/2gMANWL
In the present hypothetical, there is no patent protection, so you would pay that money and then anyone else who wanted to piggyback your FDA approval could do so for almost nothing and sell the same drug for the same indication. This would likely violate any corporate official’s fiduciary duty . . . so overall an unlikely outcome.