Pastimes
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Cutting the Cost of Medicines, realistic approaches
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| An SI Board Since November 2006 |
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We've a newly-elected Congress in the U.S., with a sudden swing to Democrat control.
A talking head on CNBC last week, re. pharmaceutical margins driving innovation and patent value??..... "a tired old argument".
But that's the way it works. Wealthy nations will always pay for superior health care, and strong patents, short of a Mad Max world, will always be a route to wealth......... circular, and it's going to stay that way.
This would be a CRAZY time for anyone to actively impede innovation in drug development. Populations are crowded and aging, and we face the threat of pandemics and epidemics of our own making (e.g., obesity). Humans have populated or otherwise mucked with this world to the point where the pharmaceutical industry needs to be healthy and responsive. Good margins are here to stay, and "states" that foster them will also be those that can provide a superior standard of living.
Take the wrong steps now? In twenty years, U.S. will be threatening to break patents because we can't afford the prices set by Glaxo, Novartis and Peking Pharma.
There are several reasonable and rational routes to bringing the cost down for prescription drugs, routes that will leave the U.S. competitive in this vital industry. Let's name, refine and list them, please. Thanks, in advance.
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