Harvard Study Finally Admits Drug Prices Are High Because Govt Grants Big Pharma A Monopoly

[workinclasszero]

Harvard Study Finally Admits Drug Prices Are High Because Govt Grants Big Pharma A Monopoly
BY REALITIES WATCH · AUGUST 28, 2016 By Matt Agorist

In what can only be described as paradigm-shattering research on drug prices, the Journal of the American Medical Association has officially recognized why drug prices skyrocket in America. Big pharma is granted a monopoly by the state which effectively eliminates their competition and allows them to charge any price they want — so they do.

A glaring example of the staggering discrepancies in American drug prices can be seen in the remarkable drug for Hep C, sofosbuvir. Sofosbuvir boasts a near miraculous cure rate of 84-96% for Hep C.

However, the American version of the drug Solvaldi by Gilead, which has an FDA-granted monopoly protecting it, will cost patients a mountainous $84,000.

In India, however, Gilead has to compete in a free market. Competitors, of which there a many, using the older, much cheaper, and equally effective drug, have driven the price down to a mere $4 a pill. This makes the total cost of curing Hepatitis C in India’s free market — $336.

https://realitieswatch.com/harvard-study-finally-admits-drug-prices-high-govt-grants-big-pharma-monopoly/

[procon]

1. Its public health vs corporate wealth... guess who wins?

The influence of the drug and medical device industries is directly aimed at funding the FDA by paying the agency gobs of cash right up front for an FDA review of their products, as opposed to funding the agency through the U.S. Treasury. These "user fees" are quid pro quo and by law, it's all perfectly legal because Congress does not want to fully fund the FDA. Neither do our brave congress critters want to get tangled up in a conflict of interest between the huge sums of money they take from industry lobbyists and pro-consumer health watchdog groups. On the side, the industry gets a few other perks, like enlisting the authority of the FDA to discourage, or ban, cheaper competitive products that could bite into the profits from the approved drugs.

Free Market my ass.

[workinclasszero]

2. No Free Market in this country for sure

It's pay to play in Mercia!

[Iggo]

3. Man, I gotta get me some study money!