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Can you elaborate on how other countries are free riders? It's not like the board at Novo has a board meeting where they decide "we hate the US so lets charge

Can you elaborate on how other countries are free riders? It's not like the board at Novo has a board meeting where they decide "we hate the US so lets charge them more for our products" The simple fact is that the US has higher drug prices because it has created a healthcare system that allows pharmaceutical companies to charge much more for their products The way to lower drug prices is to change the system to prevent that

pfdietz 3y ago
They have monopsonies. The drug maker has a choice of either losing some operating profit or going along with the price they set. The free riding is in these countries not paying a price that pays their share of the development cost of the drug.
- Ekaros 3y ago
  These companies are not selling drugs at loss in these countries. And these countries are not forcing the sale of drugs in the first place. The companies choose to take some profit over none. That does not make smarter countries that do negotiation anyway free riders.
  - pfdietz 3y ago
    Indeed, they are not selling the drugs at a price that is below their marginal costs. But they are also not selling drugs at a price that compensates them for the development cost, including the cost of drugs that didn't reach the market. They are free riding on this latter part.
    - Scandiravian 3y ago
      That's a pretty strong claim. Do you have a source for that?
      - pfdietz 3y ago
        Since the price of Ozempic in France is 1/10th the price in the US, you either admit France is not paying their share of the development costs, or you think the US price is way excessive even taking development into account.
        Scandiravian 3y ago
        The price is not set to solely recoup the development cost. It's set to produce a profit. Secondly, Novo has probably made sales for around 80-100 billion dollars for Wegovy and Ozempic at this point. Given that 20%-25% of that are from sales in the EU, that's somewhere along the lines of 16-25 billion dollars, more than enough to recapture the cost of development already The price in the US is higher because the US has created a system, that prioritise corporate interests above that of the individual. The price of these drugs are low in Europe because the population fought for affordable healthcare (among other things) I definitely think that the price of healthcare in the US is excessive, not just the price of Ozempic. The reason for that is not that other countries are free-riding, but because the US voters continuously have voted for politicians that put corporate interests above those of their constituents Healthcare providers in the US are free to band together to improve their bargaining power when purchasing drugs, just like most countries in the EU does That'll however require that the US starts electing officials who actually work in the interest of the public
- Scandiravian 3y ago
  The US made a decision to prioritise corporations over their citizens I get that it's easier to blame other countries for "free-riding", than to acknowledge that the US itself is to blame for the way it has decided to structure itself If the population in the US want affordable healthcare, then they need to fight for it. That's what we did in Europe

pfdietz 3y ago

They have monopsonies. The drug maker has a choice of either losing some operating profit or going along with the price they set. The free riding is in these countries not paying a price that pays their share of the development cost of the drug.

Ekaros 3y ago
These companies are not selling drugs at loss in these countries. And these countries are not forcing the sale of drugs in the first place. The companies choose to take some profit over none. That does not make smarter countries that do negotiation anyway free riders.
- pfdietz 3y ago
  Indeed, they are not selling the drugs at a price that is below their marginal costs. But they are also not selling drugs at a price that compensates them for the development cost, including the cost of drugs that didn't reach the market. They are free riding on this latter part.
  - Scandiravian 3y ago
    That's a pretty strong claim. Do you have a source for that?
    - pfdietz 3y ago
      Since the price of Ozempic in France is 1/10th the price in the US, you either admit France is not paying their share of the development costs, or you think the US price is way excessive even taking development into account.
      - Scandiravian 3y ago
        The price is not set to solely recoup the development cost. It's set to produce a profit. Secondly, Novo has probably made sales for around 80-100 billion dollars for Wegovy and Ozempic at this point. Given that 20%-25% of that are from sales in the EU, that's somewhere along the lines of 16-25 billion dollars, more than enough to recapture the cost of development already The price in the US is higher because the US has created a system, that prioritise corporate interests above that of the individual. The price of these drugs are low in Europe because the population fought for affordable healthcare (among other things) I definitely think that the price of healthcare in the US is excessive, not just the price of Ozempic. The reason for that is not that other countries are free-riding, but because the US voters continuously have voted for politicians that put corporate interests above those of their constituents Healthcare providers in the US are free to band together to improve their bargaining power when purchasing drugs, just like most countries in the EU does That'll however require that the US starts electing officials who actually work in the interest of the public
Scandiravian 3y ago
The US made a decision to prioritise corporations over their citizens I get that it's easier to blame other countries for "free-riding", than to acknowledge that the US itself is to blame for the way it has decided to structure itself If the population in the US want affordable healthcare, then they need to fight for it. That's what we did in Europe