Don't have to put money into R&D. Between the MRC and NIHR, the UK's NHS puts at least a couple of billions (Sterling) into clinical research each year, making

Don't have to put money into R&D. Between the MRC and NIHR, the UK's NHS puts at least a couple of billions (Sterling) into clinical research each year, making them the largest clinical research funder in Europe. They're not researching generics. Oh and they were one of the original funders of PubMed Europe. I can think of lots of things the government does better than the private sector, although admittedly outside the US.