Re:2,000% price hike for infant seizure drug called 'absurd'
by beagle3 on Monday November 16, 2015 @04:45PM
(#10577452)
I take it back; You are right that it is not pure capitalism - in pure capitalism, there would not be FDA regulation which definitely plays a huge part here. But I think the end result is indistinguishable.
I'll grant you that it is not YET the result of pure capitalism, assuming that there is, indeed, foreign production. But what stops the buyer from consolidating foreign producers as well? It's good for every producer involved - together, they can raise the prices even more.
Totally free markets are unstable.
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Re:2,000% price hike for infant seizure drug called 'absurd'
by nickff on Monday November 16, 2015 @05:51PM
(#10577895)
>"Capitalism stands its trial before judges who have the sentence of death in their pockets. They are going to pass it, whatever the defense they may hear; the only success victorious defense can possibly produce is a change in the indictment."
-Joseph Schumpeter
"Under monopoly, a greater part of the specific factors of production concerned will remain unused. The common feature of all instances of monopoly prices is that part of the supply, which under competitive conditions would have been offered on the market, is withheld from the market. The most spectacular and objectionable instance of this withholding is the purposeful destruction of the commodities concerned. It happened mostly with consumers’ goods (e.g., coffee) but sometimes also with factors of production."
There are other sources of this drug, notably foreign production, but they don't have the proper licensing. Thus you get a license monopoly. There are a lot of drugs developed overseas that are effective but they are unknown in the U.S market because they are not approved by the proper license monopoly granter. Under pure capitalism, these products would be allowed on the market and independent rating agencies would ensure their quality.