Replies to post #390296 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[BOREALIS]

Excellent article and graphics..

-- The true story of America’s sky-high prescription drug prices --

[Zorax]

I see this as the same cop out bullshit scare tactic that they used with the trickle down lie, because it would open up more companies not associated with big pharma who WILL innovate to create their own market sector and big pharma can't have this competition. If the government can regulate, then the pharma doesn't need lobbyists and insider investors. Same as big energy it's all about keeping it in the family.

The United States allows drugmakers to set their own prices for a given product — and allows every drug that's proven to be safe come onto market. And the problems that causes are easy to see, from the high copays at the drugstore to the people who can’t afford lifesaving medications.

What’s harder to see is that if we did lower drug prices, we would be making a trade-off. Lowering drug profits would make pharmaceuticals a less desirable industry for investors. And less investment in drugs would mean less research toward new and innovative cures.

There’s this analogy that Craig Garthwaite, a professor at Kellogg School of Management who studies drug prices, gave me that helped make this clear. Think about a venture capitalist who is deciding whether to invest $10 million in a social media app or a cure for pancreatic cancer.

“As you decrease the potential profits I’m going to make from pancreatic cures, I’m going to shift more of my investment over to apps or just keep the money in the bank and earn the money I make there,” Garthwaite says.