Subj : Re: Um...no comment?
To   : Frank Reid
From : Deuce
Date : Mon Sep 19 2005 12:06 am

  Re: Re: Um...no comment?
  By: Frank Reid to Frank on Sun Sep 18 2005 09:21:00

 > Pharmaceutical companies make profit, and they're going to continue to make
 > profit by developing other means, if necessary.  If 50% of their net profit
 > results from U.S. drug sales, and half that market goes away because the U.S
 > starts buying foreign-market intended drugs, they will immediately increase
 > costs for foreign-market intended drugs.

Drugs are manufactured all over the place.  In Canada for example, there have
been a number of cases where the government removed patent protection from
certain drugs specfically because the drug company in the US wouldn't/couldn't
provide enough, or wouldn't provide it at a low enough cost.  Those cheaper "no
name" drugs were then available at much lower prices simply because the
companies manufacturing them didn't have to pay for the R&D.  

I would imagine cases like this are what really worries the phamaceutical
companies... how can they afford to develop new drugs if their profits are
stolen from them by well meaning goverment actions?

Granted, Canada does this very rarely, but it's political pressure that maes it
happen, not market pressure.

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 þ Synchronet þ ``Penguins make tasty snacks''

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