We don't need to forcefully regulate drug companies, all we have to do, as taxpayers, is ask for something in return for our tax dollars. "We will pay to develop your drug, but then we get to regulate the price, and you'll still make a reasonable profit. That's the deal, take it or leave it." No force, no compulsion, just us taxpayers asking for something in return for our dollars and coming to an agreement before handing over our dollars.
Can you share examples? I am genuinely asking.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullartic...
https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/us-tax-dolla...
Also, the prohibition on letting Medicare negotiate drug prices could be seen as taxpayer funded drug development, assuming that money were used to fund drug development rather than enrich shareholders.
[1] https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/08/29/hhs-selects-the-fi...
[2] https://www.levernews.com/americans-paid-11-billion-to-make-...
> pharmaceutical and biotechnology sales revenue increased from $534 billion to $775 billion between 2006 and 2015
> worldwide company-reported R&D spending, most of which went to drug development (rather than research) ... $89 billion in 2015 dollars
> During the same period, federal spending, which funded a greater amount of basic research relative to industry, remained stable at around $28 billion
So only ~11% of total revenue was being reinvested, mostly into drug development.
And basic research was funded largely by federal spending.
How have so many people lost their hearts and minds to this tail-chasing madness?
For some reason, only we do. As far as the crazy-high prices.
Who are the “we” and who are the “they” in your telling?
The rest of the world. Including many countries host to major drug companies.
Somehow I don’t think they’ll let those companies’ R&D departments starve if the US stops paying $700 for things that cost other countries $120, or what have you.
same drug costs $10k in US is sold for $5k in EU and $10 in India.
The biggest question is: Why should US consumer subsidize pharma R&D so that pharma can sell it globally and hoard profits in Switzerland?
note: all pharma companies are incorporated in a way to pay de-minimus tax in US/EU/Asia via transfer pricing schemes and hoard all extra profits in Switzerland because of Swiss laws taxing licensing IP only at 15%
example:
1. Pharma, Inc sells drug for $10,000 in US
2. it licenses IP from Swiss entity and swiss entity charges it $9999 royalty
3. Pharma, Inc pays US tax on $1 of profit at 35%
4. Swiss entity records $9999 profit and pays 15% tax
US consumer think twice: do you want to pay $10,000 for a drug + $20,000 in insurance premium+copay when you can travel to India/Egypt/Turkey/Germany and get the same treatment for the same brand name drug for 1/10 (or 1/1000 of cost).
We need to talk about geographical arbitrage of healthcare costs more
I'd argue everyone benefits from a world where cures exist but are expensive, when the alternative is everything that exists is affordable, but progress halts.