LSAT Explanation PT 20, S1, Q2: A director of the Rexx Pharmaceutical

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the support offered by the company director for the claim concerning the marketing of vaccines? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Weaken question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is A. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

In this LSAT problem, we are given an argument made by a director of the Rexx Pharmaceutical Company. The argument's structure is as follows:

Premise 1: Vaccines are administered to a patient only once.

Premise 2: Medicines that combat diseases and chronic illnesses are administered many times to each patient.

Intermediate Conclusion 1: Sales of vaccines are likely to be lower than other pharmaceutical products.

Intermediate Conclusion 2: Marketing of vaccines will be less profitable than other products.

Main Conclusion: Development costs for new vaccines should be subsidized by the government.

The question type is a Weaken question, which asks us to find the answer choice that, if true, most weakens the support offered by the company director for the claim concerning the marketing of vaccines.

An "Evaluate" question for this argument would be: "Are vaccines administered to a significantly smaller number of people than other pharmaceutical products?"

Now, let's evaluate each answer choice:

a) Vaccines are administered to many more people than are most other pharmaceutical products.

This answer choice weakens Intermediate Conclusion 1 by suggesting that even though vaccines are administered only once, they are given to a much larger number of people, potentially leading to higher sales and profitability. This, in turn, weakens the Main Conclusion that the government should subsidize the development costs. This is the correct answer.

b) Many of the diseases that vaccines are designed to prevent can be successfully treated by medicines.

This answer choice doesn't weaken the argument as it doesn't address the profitability of vaccines compared to other pharmaceutical products.

c) Pharmaceutical companies occasionally market products that are neither medicines nor vaccines.

This answer choice is irrelevant to the argument as it doesn't address the profitability of vaccines compared to other pharmaceutical products.

d) Pharmaceutical companies other than the Rexx Pharmaceutical Company produce vaccines.

This answer choice doesn't weaken the argument as it doesn't address the profitability of vaccines compared to other pharmaceutical products.

e) The cost of administering a vaccine is rarely borne by the pharmaceutical company that manufactures that vaccine.

This answer choice doesn't weaken the argument as it doesn't address the profitability of vaccines compared to other pharmaceutical products.

In conclusion, the correct answer is (A), as it weakens the argument by suggesting that vaccines might be more profitable due to the larger number of people they are administered to, despite being given only once per person.