Posted on 07/17/2018 8:16:27 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
One of Donald Trump's more memorable promises on the campaign trail was to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Polls show this issue remains popular with Americans, especially lower-income families, who are worried about high drug prices.
Of course, the entire concept of drug prices' being "too high" is subjective. Drugs are too expensive ... compared with what? Certainly not compared with not having the drugs available at all. If you suffer from the intense pain of migraine headaches or have been diagnosed with lung cancer, how much would you pay for a drug to help you? I have friends who have children who are afflicted with epilepsy or rare and fatal blood diseases, and they say they would literally give up everything they have for treatments to cure their children.
So whatever we choose to do to make drugs less expensive, we had better be sure we aren't stifling or delaying the innovation that makes wonder drugs available in the first place. Price controls sound wonderful, but studies show that they often inhibit drug development. So there is a trade-off.
Our new study (co-authored by Steve Forbes) at Committee to Unleash Prosperity finds that there is a right and a wrong way to make drugs and vaccines more affordable. The wrong way is for government to artificially hold down prices through price controls or reimportation of drugs (which is just a way to reimport price controls from other nations).
The right way to lower drug costs is to stop allowing foreign countries to evade our patent laws and impose their own price controls. Many of our major trading partners -- including rich countries such as Canada and the European Union members -- have long enjoyed the fruits of American-funded progress on the cheap, thanks to state-sponsored price controls. They have been doing so for years.
This "free rider" problem raises drug prices here at home because when foreigners pay below-market prices for the drugs, they escape the cost of underwriting the critical research and development investments. The cost of developing a new life-saving drug can be as much as $2.5 billion. American consumers are the suckers who have to pick up the tab.
It is grossly unfair that Canadians and Germans pay less than Americans do for drugs that were developed in the United States. The average American spends $876 per year on prescription drugs, compared with $503 for people living in the European Union. No surprise, our investment in pharmaceutical R&D is also much higher: $233 per capita, compared with just $73 in Europe.
Foreign price controls also slow scientific progress and the race for cures. A study from the U.S. Department of Commerce found that price controls in just a small number of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries had reduced R&D funding by between $5 billion and $8 billion per year, preventing the development of three to four new drugs annually.
Another study using data from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services calculated that if OECD countries lifted all price controls on prescription drugs, the resulting increase in pharmaceutical R&D investment would yield eight to 13 new drugs per year through 2030. What if one of these delayed drugs is a cure for multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's or Alzheimer's?
Fortunately, the one person in Washington who is onto this price-control scam is Donald J. Trump. He recently pledged to fight to reverse these violations of American intellectual property in upcoming trade negotiations. He denounced "foreign freeloaders" and has directed his trade representative to "make fixing this injustice a top priority" in negotiations with every trading partner.
If he succeeds, he will strike a blow for our economy and our health. Europe and Canada are perfectly content to allow Americans to subsidize innovation while they reap the benefits at knockdown prices. Then they boast about how they pay less for health care than we do. Yes, it's easy to cut your expenses when someone else is picking up the tab. But American consumers won't stand for this gambit anymore. Nor should we.
Couldn’t agree more.
Will Big Pharma drop their US prices once Trump succeeds in ending overseas price controls?
I’ll believe it when I see it.
I’m not one for expanding government, but perhaps some program should be setup to administer valium or prozac to the entire leftist population. At least to provide relief to the right.
I’d be fine with giving them Thorazine.
” Drugs are too expensive ... compared with what..”
Stopped reading right there. The author is an idiot. There is simply no way in hell, for any reason or any circumstance where I as an American should pay more than anyone else in the world. Period. Anybody who has an issue or objection to that? May then and their loved ones die of some horrible disease. Screw them.
President Trump needs to bring the manufacturing of prescription drugs including the ingredients of brand-name drugs and generics back into the USA where they can be inspected properly.
“...The Zhejiang HuaHai Pharmaceutical company in Linhai, China had apparently sold contaminated valsartan to a number of drug manufacturers. China now supplies the world with many active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Drug companies in many other countries buy the these APIs, add “inactive” ingredients like binders and fillers and create finished pills. They are then shipped all over the world...”
“On July 5, 2018, the European Medicines Agency announced its concerns about some of the generic valsartan medicines being sold across Europe. By the next day it was announced that 22 countries were recalling certain generic valsartan blood pressure pills. Some contained just valsartan. Others had the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) as an added ingredient. The manufacturers involved included Dexcel Pharma and Accord Healthcare...”
“Which brings us to the whole question of Chinese drug manufacturing. As far as we can tell, there has been no announcement about tariffs on medicines made in China or India. Most Americans would be amazed to learn that a huge number of our over-the-counter and prescription medicines are made in those two countries...”
Buyer beware!!
There is another thing that government could do to reduce the costs of R&D and bringing a drug to market in the USA. They could update the regulatory process and outsource the validation and certifications of the process from development through testing and trials.
I’ve worked in the big Pharma industry. The regulatory restrictions and requirements are extremely expensive. If there are animals (test subjects) involved, It gets extremely complicated and armies of administrators and VERY expensive facilities are required.
Then folks need to know, that there are lots of lines of cures being researched and it takes several years before they know whether something will be successful. Imagine spending tens of millions of dollars on 6 potential medicines. After 8 to 12 years, one of those proves successful, passes trials and is approved for sale. The other 5 don’t work. They have a patent for what, a few years?
Their drug prices reflect what they are trying to both recoup in R&D to bring the drug to market, the other failed R&D, investment in the future and some profit. The government regulations combined with price controls limits their ability to cover the inflated costs in the sales of their inventions and products.
It is certainly maddening what drugs can cost. But I learned that the general public really does not understand the complicated business that is Pharmaceutical development and production.
https://www.healthwarehouse.com
Healthwarehouse.com is a VIPPS accredited pharmacy based in Florence, Kentucky
Well, maybe if you read the article you would understand that Mr. Moore and Mr. Forbes agree with you, and have a plan to make it so.
You should have kept reading - your point is addressed. The condensed version:
"whatever we choose to do to make drugs less expensive, we had better be sure we aren't stifling or delaying the innovation that makes wonder drugs available in the first place. Price controls sound wonderful, but studies show that they often inhibit drug development. So there is a trade-off.
"[...] there is a right and a wrong way to make drugs and vaccines more affordable. The wrong way is for government to artificially hold down prices through price controls or reimportation of drugs (which is just a way to reimport price controls from other nations).
"The right way to lower drug costs is to stop allowing foreign countries to evade our patent laws and impose their own price controls. Many of our major trading partners -- including rich countries such as Canada and the European Union members -- have long enjoyed the fruits of American-funded progress on the cheap, thanks to state-sponsored price controls. They have been doing so for years.
"This "free rider" problem raises drug prices here at home because when foreigners pay below-market prices for the drugs, they escape the cost of underwriting the critical research and development investments. The cost of developing a new life-saving drug can be as much as $2.5 billion. American consumers are the suckers who have to pick up the tab."
Price controls are industry killers. Canadians pay less for health care. Do want that system where rationing is common? These countries cannot afford to invest in new drug therapies. why do you want to go into the abyss. You want to destroy a great industry just like Obamacare is doing for insurance companies and medical care.
there is a sense of entitlement that’s pervasive in this country.
There is a cost associated with developing new drugs. If you don’t want to pay you don’t have to. No one is twisting your arm.
The legal environment is very costly for Pharma.
Every slip and fall lawyer is chomping at the bit to sue.
I don’t mind paying. I’ll hang with piano wire anyone who expects me to pay more than my share. It’s not “entitlement” to say EVERYBODY pays their fair share.
What is "your fair share"? And when do you plan to start this murderous campaign?
Consequently, "fair share" is relative depending on who you talk to. The Rich should pay more than they ever would need because it's "fair", regardless of how much medical care they need. The poor shouldn't have to pay anything because that's "fair", they can't afford it. The Conservative says everyone should pay the same, regardless of your wealth, or you don't get care.
Finally, "entitlement" is the taking side of the equation. When the expectation is that I should get it for free because 1) It's a right, 2) I paid my fair share or 3) Because it's owed to me, then it becomes an entitlement. We know that nothing is free. It had to be paid for by some means. Fair Share would be relative to who paid for it and who benefits from the funding.
In short, when you think about it, your 3-sentence statement is gibberish. ;o) But I understand and share your sentiment and frustration.
Exactly so.
what is missing is the obvious elephant in the room - the pharms that make the product AGREE to the price control. Which they wouldn't if they were actually taking a loss. Which makes countries that don't have price controls their cash cows. For instance, an albuterol inhaler in the US runs $70 otc cash. From Canada, less than $20. It contains 20mg of albuterol. Is albuterol really that expensive? nope. The cost is pennies or fractions on a billion unit run. Why do they charge $70 in the US? Because they can.
“——an albuterol inhaler in the US runs $70 otc cash. From Canada, less than $20.”
I thought albuterol was prescription only,not OTC.
.
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“The Conservative says everyone should pay the same, regardless of your wealth, or you don’t get care”
That right there,. It’s so obvious that it doesn’t need stating, but thanks for stating it.
yes, you need a rx, for Canada too.
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