I was in the car earlier this week and heard that Pfizer and Glaxo, two of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the US announced that they would discontinue supplying Canadian pharmacies that resell their product to the US. For more on the subject, visit the Boston Globe article from August 7, 2003.
The entire subject of the cost of drugs in the US riles me. We pay at least TWICE as much for the exact same drug as the Canadians, and other countries pay much less than the Canadians. It's the exact same medicine, not a generic, but Americans are expected to pay through the nose "to support the cost of research."
HORSE HOCKEY!!!
Those companies can sell their products for the same price to every country, and they might make a billion or two less in profits, and still be able to fund the research. They are going to find very rapidly, that the baby boomers in the US will NOT be able to pay their outrageous demands and their free ride will be over.
It can't happen soon enough!
Comments (2)
Ahh Buffy, a serious topic here. Though they are in the business of healthcare, remember, the bottom line is MONEY and PROFIT!
Posted by Dr. D. | August 15, 2003 9:04 AM
Posted on August 15, 2003 09:04
Not nice -
But turn it around. For years the drug companies have been submitting to extortion with the knowledge that if they failed to do so the whole world - including the US - would excoriate them for charging more than manufacturing/distribution plus 10%, so they charged more here to recoup indirect costs. Now our congresswimps want to re-import at the rate gotten at the point of a gun, and call drug manufacturers greedy for saying that if they can neither get R&D costs from the US nor recoup them by spreading such costs to all customers, then they will opt out of the whole mess. Let them eat cake...
Instead of adding to the woes, Congress should take the approach of telling other governments to pay a fairer share or do without. US costs could then come down.
But that is not politically attractive, I can already hear Chretien spouting about price-gouging.
Posted by John Anderson | August 16, 2003 10:27 AM
Posted on August 16, 2003 10:27