Should Americans be allowed to import perscription drugs from other countries?

straykatz said:

Canada is its own country with its set of rule/regulations. We have no right to dictate how Canada should run their country.

On a side note....maybe if big pharma took 1/3 of all the advertising money they spend every single day they could lower prices.

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Nope. Advertising doesn't effect US prices either.

The price is set to what the market will bear. Drugs, once they make it to market, have massive sunk costs, and cost little to manufacture. Therefore every marginal sale will bring in revenue on a drug that usually has a finite patent life. Advertising increases patient and prescriber awareness, getting people more comfortable with the drug and its use so it will have a faster and larger uptake in its patent cycle.

If all advertising stopped, pharma revenues would drop and they then, conceivably, would try to RAISE prices because of lost revenue.

straykatz said:

Canada is its own country with its set of rule/regulations. We have no right to dictate how Canada should run their country.

On a side note....maybe if big pharma took 1/3 of all the advertising money they spend every single day they could lower prices.

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Then maybe pharmaceutical companies should simply refuse to sell in countries like Canada at all.

Cephus said:

Then maybe pharmaceutical companies should simply refuse to sell in countries like Canada at all.

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Why should they not sell to Canada?...because they refuse to give the same pricing to the American market? Easier for pharma and politicians to blame the expensive drug pricing on Canada than admit we are overpriced here in the US.

straykatz said:

Why should they not sell to Canada?...because they refuse to give the same pricing to the American market? Easier for pharma and politicians to blame the expensive drug pricing on Canada than admit we are overpriced here in the US.

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They can if they choose to, of course. But maybe because the companies should set the pricing, not other governments who bear none of the costs for development?

Cephus said:

They can if they choose to, of course. But maybe because the companies should set the pricing, not other governments who bear none of the costs for development?

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Companies DO set the pricing.

National health systems set the reimbursement.

If companies don't like it, they can sell it for a higher price. The consumer would have to pay the difference.

I'll just toss in there that this issue doesn't just impact new or untested drugs, but existing drugs that have been ruled safe by the FDA.

When I quit smoking, I discovered that nicotine gum could be had for about 30% of what it costs in the U.S, even when you include the cost of shipping from New Zealand!

Protecting the market from "unfair" competition has gone too far.

Threegoofs said:

The US is willing to pay the prices, obviously.

It's the wealthiest nation on earth. And since we have all the stuff we really ever need, one of the most valuable things to possess is better health. And right now, the US has decided health care is what it values. That's why we pay double that of every other country, and apparently are OK with that.

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Because we can always just choose to be sick and die instead, brilliant. We have THE shyttiest health"care" system on the planet amongst advanced post-industrial nations; THE most expensive, THE most inefficient. And yeah, the power structure, the donor class and Wall Street are all OK with that.

Threegoofs said:

Companies DO set the pricing.

National health systems set the reimbursement.

If companies don't like it, they can sell it for a higher price. The consumer would have to pay the difference.

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And that's what american consumers do for Wall Street and big pharma when single payer systems cap the gouging.