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Originally Posted by Joekerr
Ahh, what the heck, I'll jump in too.
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Originally Posted by bbbbmw
#2 - you missed the point - Canadians get meds and devices at cost, because the US pays for their development.
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Source? The US is not, contrary to your opinion, the centre of the world where they give generously. They just don't. Americans are in it to make money, plain and simple. I don't say this as a bad thing, because I understand it. So no, Canadians don't get anything at "cost". Why on earth would anyone sell something at cost? Why work at all if there's nothing in it for them from profit margin perspective? The only way a US developer would sell devices / meds to Canada was IF they could make a profit on it. Period.
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Originally Posted by bbbbmw
#6 - the lobbyists in the US directly benefit Canadians as well.
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LOL - Whut? How do lobbyists benefit ANYONE other than those who are paying them to lobby? Which is big pharma. Trust me, they aren't lobbying for the good of Joe Public. So they are not benefitting Americans (aside from those Americans who are paying them to lobby their drug / device of course, but they are an extremely small subset of the American population) and they certainly aren't doing anything for Canada either. So...no.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbbmw
#7 - your drugs are cheaper because the cost to develop them is padded into the US drug prices. By Canadian law, drug prices are limited to the cost of manufacturing, plus a small, regulated profit margin.
You really don't get this....
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So see, this appears to contradict your first comment about being at cost. But you are right to a degree - there is a profit margin in Canada, things certainly aren't sold at cost here. The profit margin may very well not be regulated as much in America, I do not know your laws, but if that were the case, why is your ire not directed at the lobbyists in your point above who are doing so much to "benefit" America? And the Americans who own the rights to these drugs?
Again, I'll reiterate - Americans are not selling the drugs to Canada unless there's profit in it. And all the SR&ED going into developing them is baked in to the cost. |
Follow the ball:
1. Lobbyists in the US generate money, tax breaks, etc. for Big Pharma.
2. Big Pharma spends billions on developing drugs, knowing they can recoup their investment in the US market, as well as make a profit.
3. When those drugs are sold in Canada, and everywhere else in the world, Big Pharma can only charge what it costs to manufacture the drug, plus a small profit margin (about 7%, IIRC).
So the whole world get new drugs and medical devices, courtesy of the US - they don't subsidize the HUGE cost of experimentation, trials, etc.
The US lobbyists benefit the world.