I used to believe in the efficiency of publicly funded research, especially for things that have no direct path to economic returns. My canonical example used to be particle physics. It promises incredible breakthroughs but commercial application is faaar down the road and the risk profile is crazy. The Sabine Hossenfelder convinced me otherwise: https://youtu.be/htb_n7ok9AU?si=fJ7B8QALLm3Vy-_W

I don't think we should cut all public funding for research, but we also need private research. While semaglutides were discovered in Gila Monsters a long time ago it was Novo Nordisk that put in many years of leg work to actually turn it into something useful for humans. The more interesting argument might be that Novo is controlled by a non-profit org.