Albert Kopsho:
Genesis315,
Do you care so little about senior citizens that you do not care that they have to pay high prices for their medications? The reason that I care so much about senior citizens is because my father who is in his upper 80’s is paying exorbatant high prices even for generic drugs.
Albert
So how come the Democrats, in all the years THEY were in the majority in Congress, never passed a prescription drug bill?
The President, by the way, has no Constitutional authority to order drug companies, or anyone else to lower prices.
The price of drugs is high in America because the American consumer is forced to bear the whole burden of drug Research and Development, while other nations get a free ride. John E. Calfee in an article entitled “The High Price of Cheap Drugs” pointed out;
" American manufacturers now account for 7 of the top 10 worldwide best-selling medicines, and 15 of the top 20. This reflects a large and growing disparity in research and development expenditures. In 1990, European pharmaceutical firms outspent American firms on R&D by approximately 8 billion euros to 5 billion euros ($7 billion to $4.3 billion). In 2000, U.S. firms outspent European firms by 24 billion euros to 17 billion euros ($20.9 billion to $14.8 billion)."
In other words, in just a decade, the European nations (and Canada) succeeded in throwing away their lead in drug R&D.
We do *
NOT ***want to choke off R&D in the US. Every one of us will need drugs at some time, and we want the latest developments in drugs.
Let me point out that in the process, Canada killed competition in their drug industry. As a result, generic drugs are more expensive in Canada than in the US.
A study by D’Angelo Consulting of Ottawa (cited in Forbes Magazine, February 2003), found that 21 of the top 27 best selling generic drugs cost more in Canada than in the US. And the combined price for all 27 was 37% higher in Canada than in the US!
The reason for this is that price controls make drug companies less likely to gear up to produce a new drug when the original patents expire. That means less competition in Canada, and higher prices for generics. In the US when the patent expires on a new drug, the price drops an average of 74% – but in Canada, the drop is only 38%.
