Meaning we do, we the people, …. who in turn get gouged while Canadians receive downwardly negotiated pricing as we are preyed upon by big pharma to offset that “loss”.
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Government Take Over Of Pharmaceutical Production
- Thread starter Cheerful Charlie
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Meaning we do, we the people, …. who in turn get gouged while Canadians receive downwardly negotiated pricing as we are preyed upon by big pharma to offset that “loss”.
couch_sloth
Member
I haven’t kept up with much of the recent news.... I know that it seemed like the U.S. was paying for the bulk of the research & development cost for drugs (More so than even other first-world countries). e.g. A particular new drug might cost a company 5 cents per pill to manufacture, without adding-in the R&D cost. If the company wishes to recover these costs from the US market, the price jumps to $5 per pill. With US customers paying for the R&D costs, the company can then sell the drug in other parts of the world for 25 cents per pill, and still make a sizable profit.
R&D Costs For Pharmaceutical Companies Do Not Explain Elevated US Drug Prices
https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20170307.059036/full/
Big Pharma Spends More On Advertising Than Research And Development, Study Finds
Summary:
A new study estimates the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development, contrary to the industry's claim. The U.S. pharmaceutical industry spent 24.4% of the sales dollar in 2004 on promotion, versus 13.4% for research and development, as a percentage of US domestic sales of US$235.4 billion. The study's findings supports the position that the U.S. pharmaceutical industry is marketing-driven and challenges the perception of a research-driven, life-saving, pharmaceutical industry.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080105140107.htm
Big pharmaceutical companies are spending far more on marketing than research
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...spending-far-more-on-marketing-than-research/
Got an example of a government program that actually runs well enough to provide a consistent supply of life-sustaining medicine?
And note that generic insulin is cheap. What they can't afford are better versions still under patent. The government would only be making the cheap stuff--which is affordable anyway.
Unfortunately, I would not trust the government to set a fair price.
I would like to see this done the other way around, though--the government should offer to buy the patent for $xxx of the first drug that does <y>, where <y> is some socially useful objective that might not be economic to produce. (For example, a malaria vaccine.)
Yup. When trying to solve a problem the first step needs to be to identify the real problem. In this case we have a very clear suspect: advertising costs. Prohibit virtually all direct-to-consumer advertising of drugs. (I would permit talk-to-your-doctor ads when there is a new treatment that is substantially better than the existing options and it's live-with-it type condition, something you very well might not have talked to your doctor about because you had learned from a previous doctor there was nothing to do. I'm thinking of Viagra as an example. Note that it would not apply to Cialis--at that point there was Viagra.)
Cheerful Charlie
Contributor
Generic old fashioned insulins do not work well for everyone. And still are expensive. No, when a drug is placed out of reach of people because of price gouging from robber baron pharma CEOs, this is killing people. This is a moral problem. This pharma model creates artificial shortages for many and is no longer acceptable. It is time to kill this model of pharma dead. It is literally killing people.
Yes, government can do the job as long as shit for brains conservatives are kept far away from this. For example, with Part D that helps seniors with drug costs, the GOP inserted a provision the government could not negotiate for lower drug costs with Big Pharma. This has proven a gold mine for the robber barons.
You completely did not address my point here.
Our endless war and global occupation/oppression oppression machine.
Canadians get "our" pharma products at cheaper price points than americans do. By design.
The drug that every Pharmaco wants is one that treats a non life threatening condition common to wealthy people. If you develop a drug that cures a fatal disease, people act like you're on the deck of the Titanic, hogging all the life preservers. One will notice that Pharmaceutical advertising is aimed at this market. "Ask your physician if Moneymakerex" is right for you.
Many years ago, a Chevrolet Suburban was brought to the dealership shop where I worked, with an unusual request. They wanted the seats and the carpet removed, cleaned, and reinstalled. We would do the removal and installation. A contractor would pick up the seats and carpet and return them after cleaning. The owner was a brain surgeon and on the way back from a fishing trip, one of the ice chests leaked. Fish goo permeated the carpet, which led to mold, and the Doctor is allergic to mold.
Of course, being a well paid health care professional, he could afford to pay for this service. In my car career, I've seen many moldy cars. A small rain leak can go unnoticed and a closed car in the sun is the perfect greenhouse for mold. Poor people just have to endure the runny nose and the irritated eyes.
That is the basic health care model in the US, whether it's an irritation or life threatening. We are entitled to all the healthcare we can afford. The price of most prescription medicines would tumble if Medicare was free to issue competitive contracts with drug companies, including foreign companies. There will always be newly introduced and highly patented drugs and we'll pay the price when we need them, but the current system allows drug companies to thrive in a non-competitive environment and they tell us it's for our own good.
Many years ago, a Chevrolet Suburban was brought to the dealership shop where I worked, with an unusual request. They wanted the seats and the carpet removed, cleaned, and reinstalled. We would do the removal and installation. A contractor would pick up the seats and carpet and return them after cleaning. The owner was a brain surgeon and on the way back from a fishing trip, one of the ice chests leaked. Fish goo permeated the carpet, which led to mold, and the Doctor is allergic to mold.
Of course, being a well paid health care professional, he could afford to pay for this service. In my car career, I've seen many moldy cars. A small rain leak can go unnoticed and a closed car in the sun is the perfect greenhouse for mold. Poor people just have to endure the runny nose and the irritated eyes.
That is the basic health care model in the US, whether it's an irritation or life threatening. We are entitled to all the healthcare we can afford. The price of most prescription medicines would tumble if Medicare was free to issue competitive contracts with drug companies, including foreign companies. There will always be newly introduced and highly patented drugs and we'll pay the price when we need them, but the current system allows drug companies to thrive in a non-competitive environment and they tell us it's for our own good.