First of all, are most medical innovations made in America? Probably... but do you really know?
Secondly, the $42,000 per year in drug costs my one friend pays says there will be no true pharmaceutical breakthrough in Parkinson's, unless it is something that costs $50,000 per year.
I have no idea if the gov't even funds any research at all in pharmaceuticals. I think mostly they just hand out corporate welfare and tax breaks, which in theory indirectly supports research, or at least really nice stock options.
If you think a drug company would kill it's own cash cow without replacing it with a more expensive cash cow, I think you will be waiting a long time to see it happen. The drugs for Parkinson's for example last a very short time and have severe, often permanent side effects. My brother, who has Parkinson's, had one that caused his socks to glue themselves to his feet.
The fact that there's no cure for many diseases doesn't mean that there aren't people trying and that it isn't extremely difficult. The big thrust in a quantum improvement in PD patients is surgical, not pharmaceutical (search Deep Brain Stimulation for more info).
The irony in what you say is that as millions each year drop off the insurance rolls, fewer and fewer people will be having their lives improved by any of these drugs. We can't charge tens of thousands per year per patient *and* not have insurance.
All that said, my premise, which you said you disagreed with, is that true, breakthrough innovations which can be cost effectively implemented will come from without the pharmaceutical industry (e.g. Livestrong Foundation). I believe that big pharma solutions will be designed to bleed us dry. |
