Put yourself in the position of owner of a drug company. You spend billions and years to develop a drug. Your motivation? Probably a combination of wanting to make money, keep your company afloat and maybe somewhere in the mix is a desire to do good and help people, a good feeling about keeping a whole bunch of people working and who knows what else. But no matter what, the bottom line is... the bottom line. You have a responsibility to your employees, your stock holders and those who depend on you. Take away the profits and why do what you're doing?
So along comes the German government. They tell you to feel free to make a profit the first year, but after that they'll determine how much you get paid for your investment. Their motivation? Keeping healthcare costs down.
Now, tell me what you are going to do as a drug company? First thing is you'll probably close up shop in Germany and move to a country that will pay you for your investment, labor, technology and innovation.
Currently the United States is churning out the majority of new stuff, the break-through drugs and cutting edge technology. However, with the advent of Obamacare who knows how much longer we'll have a free market.
Back to Germany. You've closed up shop and taken your wares elsewhere. You're willing to sell the first year, but what's the incentive to sell your $100 a pill drug at $5.00 a pill and take a loss? or have to prove that it's really worth maybe $80 a pill minus your profit and thus Germany should split the difference and pay you $90? Of course, I haven't read the details, but chances are the government probably has something in place that says if you sell the drugs the first year then you're obligated to sell at their price for x number of additional years.
The folks in Germany will start heading to hospitals in other countries to get the drugs and treatment, or they'll buy on the black market.
However, another monkey wrench is on the horizon. The entire world is moving toward 1984 type handling of drugs. Pretty soon there won't be a country left in the world that's willing to pay companies for their investment in developing new drugs (and probably other products soon).
Are these short-sighted Obama-types unable to see what the end result of their meddling will be? Do they really think they can FORCE people to be "good", to want to spend their time slaving for years to cure a disease at minimum wage?
The reason the United States has prospered way beyond anyone's expectation has been its free market. We have big hearts, but they're practical hearts, too. We understand that creating a drug that cures a disease can also keep many, many people employed, keep food on tables, and give people incentives for WANTING to keep their eyes hovering over a petri dish.
I hope people across the world are seeing where we're headed. Obama, Pelosi and friends are trying to move America into the European mold. Beware and watch the rest of the world closely to see where these misguided fools in control of our government are trying to drag our great country.
3/27/10 German drug plan ‘will hurt investments’
A plan by the German government to cut prices of patented drugs will ultimately harm investments in developing new medicines, Eli Lilly chief executive John Lechleiter said on yesterday. The German health minister on Friday unveiled a plan to save taxpayers about €2bn ($2.7bn) by giving drugmakers the right to charge their own prices on brand-name drugs only in the products’ first year on the market.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=351472&version=1&template_id=48&parent_id=28
Germany confirms compulsory drug price deals
11 March 2010
Germany’s Health Minister Philipp Rosler said yesterday that he will require drugmakers to negotiate lower drug prices with public health insurers “as soon as possible,” and that a price freeze and mandatory discounts will operate until they reach such agreement. Enabling legislation for the country’s new drug pricing structure is will be presented to parliamentary groups soon and will in place “by the end of the year at the latest,” the Minister said, in an interview with the daily newspaper Bild.
http://www.pharmatimes.com/WorldNews/article.aspx?id=17540
3/8/10 The End of Free Drug Pricing in Germany?
According to local press, Germany's health minister Philipp Roesler is about to open fire against the branded drug industry with a proposal to break the sector's so-called 'price monopoly' and force them to negotiate lower prices directly with insurers. Until now, Germany has been one of Europe's last bastions of "free" upfront drug pricing. Sure, the hurdles come afterwards, but both there and in the UK drug firms have--until now--been allowed to set more or less the price they like for new drugs.
http://www.europharmatoday.com/2010/03/the-end-of-free-drug-pricing-in-germany.html
12/19/02 Germany to reduce drug prices despite agreement with big pharma
Thu, 19 Dec 2002 21:00:00
New York - The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that despite a previous agreement between Germany's government and some of the world's largest drug companiesincluding Pfizer Inc, Merck & Co, and GlaxoSmithKlinethat it would not cut drug prices for 2 years in return for a $206 million donation to its public health system, Germany does plan to cut drug prices after all, by 6% next year.
http://www.theheart.org/article/182739.do
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