It is very possible Brownstein and others in their research discovered the usefulness of Iodine through the works of Jarvis and /or others and then took it a step further in their practices. It is also possible they had been studying pharma patents.
I agree with one very important point in your post... the very public work of these doctors and the subsequent business end of it, in its infancy at present, is and will be a driving force behind a very profit motivated line of pharmaceuticals putting the cost out of reach for many and most likely creating an impotent pill designed as managed care, not "cure".
We have already seen this with Iogen... and many others. One only needs to do a search on patents to see the line of Iodine drugs over the years, some of them quite old... with big pharma in a precarious position, this game of chess is still being played and our bodies are the playing board.