4 ms·

Many drugs invented by US companies are available cheaper in countries that don't respect US IP law (with no differences in quality/QA process/etc). The reason

Many drugs invented by US companies are available cheaper in countries that don't respect US IP law (with no differences in quality/QA process/etc). The reason for this is obvious: in the US the government gives the inventor a temporary monopoly. It's pretty widely accepted the presence of this government-enforced monopoly significantly increases the price of many drugs. The standard argument in favor of this is that it incentivizes R&D and we wouldn't have these drugs otherwise. I think it's debatable either way, but claiming these companies don't take advantage of this arrangement to increase prices is not true.

_0w8t 4y ago
The price of drugs in US also reflects expensive R&D and sometimes even more expensive approval process. Plus the companies has to account for the possibility of third parties manufacturing without the license which in turn requires higher unit price.
rswail 4y ago
This is nonsense. Most Western nations fully respect IPR and patents. There is nothing wrong with patents "promoting the Arts and Sciences". The problem in the US is that your largest buyers (Medicare, Medicaid, VA, Tricare) aren't allowed to properly use their buying power to push pharma companies on prices. At the same time, there's very little restriction on pharma companies advertising directly to patients (banned in most nations) which puts pressure on GPs and specialists to over/off-label prescribe unnecessary pharma. Prices in most countries are cheaper than the US because of that buying power that the government has, along with independent assessment of the value of new drugs and treatments in terms of QALY and cost/benefit to the people.
dekhn 4y ago
I am not aware of any large-scale alternative manufacturing facilities that explicitly avoid IP laws and market their product legally. Can you give an example? I work for a US biotech that is wholly owned by a EU pharma, not the US.

_0w8t 4y ago

The price of drugs in US also reflects expensive R&D and sometimes even more expensive approval process. Plus the companies has to account for the possibility of third parties manufacturing without the license which in turn requires higher unit price.

rswail 4y ago

This is nonsense. Most Western nations fully respect IPR and patents. There is nothing wrong with patents "promoting the Arts and Sciences". The problem in the US is that your largest buyers (Medicare, Medicaid, VA, Tricare) aren't allowed to properly use their buying power to push pharma companies on prices. At the same time, there's very little restriction on pharma companies advertising directly to patients (banned in most nations) which puts pressure on GPs and specialists to over/off-label prescribe unnecessary pharma. Prices in most countries are cheaper than the US because of that buying power that the government has, along with independent assessment of the value of new drugs and treatments in terms of QALY and cost/benefit to the people.

dekhn 4y ago

I am not aware of any large-scale alternative manufacturing facilities that explicitly avoid IP laws and market their product legally. Can you give an example? I work for a US biotech that is wholly owned by a EU pharma, not the US.