DoorGunner
(18)
 01/10/2006 | | No problem, however there is a problem with the fact that only Americans pay the price of R&D.; Other countries can manufacture and sell generics as soon as the drug hits the market. Not so in the United States. It's not fair that the rest of the world gets a free ride while people living in the US do not see generics for at least seven years. Drug companies pour billions of dollars into R&D; to make drugs that benefit everyone. However, because of their deep pockets, scumbag lawyers target them for lucrative suits that, in the long run, harm everyone. Take, for example, the Vioxx scam. We need tort reform now. | 4 |
EschewObfuscation
(61)
  01/10/2006 | | Unless you delineate exactly what about the "relationship" is problematic, I can't agree. Pharmaceutical companies, through billions of hours of research and development, have made life enormously safer and more productive. Is that "because" of the government? I doubt it. All industries suffer through various levels of government interference and regulation.
When they are successful, they rightly reap the financial rewards, no matter how lucrative they may be, that's how a "market economy" works. Theirs is not an easier or safer path because of the government regulation. If anything, it is often made more cumbersome and, because of the nature of government regulation, more costly to bring their products to mass production. Is there some level of government corruption? Well, since no area of government seems to be without some level of curruption, I guess so. But, overall, many incredibly effective drugs are brought to market and sold, with a stunningly safe track record, to the general public. Now, how is that a "problem" for those of us who benefit from their success? | 2 |