I can't say if it's correct or not, but here's an argument [1] that I've heard multiple times:

> Pharmaceutical breakthroughs are financed by the high prices paid by American patients (and backed by abundant venture capital); government-run health systems in Europe then bulk-buy the same drugs for much less. Europe has had some successes—German companies were among those pioneering mrna vaccines—but most of the cutting-edge research in science and technology is done at universities and companies elsewhere.

[1] https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/02/26/europe-is-the-fr...

European drug-makers benefit from those high prices in the US, too. But anyway, I’ve heard that only 11-14% of new drugs are therapeutically important. The rest compete with pre-existing treatments, which I believe is how generic forms bring costs down. I’m ok with universities doing this; bringing costs down does save the lives of poor people.