Hence the low prices of these same drugs in other countries, and the rise of internet pharmacies. And when patents expire, it's a free-for-all.
Free-for-all as in Free Market.Without the stratospheric prices for new drugs that recover the R&D expenses for Big Pharma there would be no new drugs. So instead of having to wait out the Patent period the to get the new drugs for the rare diseases there would simply be no new drugs at all and those rare diseases would never become curable. The inability to understand that there is a future- the Right Now or not at all attitude is compatible with Obamacare and will kill R&D and cut off development of new cures not to mention bring to an end the development of new antibiotics to replace the extant ones that are declining in usefulness as the pathogens mutate immunities. Can you imagine a world without effective antibiotics? Your children will see it and maybe you will if you are young.