A pharmaceutical firm that makes expenditures to research new drugs must treat the expenditures as an expense. If that same pharmaceutical firm acquires a patent for a new drug from its creator, it must treat the expenditure as an asset. If that same pharmaceutical firm acquires another firm with in-process R&D, it must treat the portion of the purchased price allocated to the in-process R&D as an asset. Explain U.S. GAAP’s rationale for the different treatment of these expenditures.