In an opinion piece for Stat, James Glassman, a former undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, overlooks the fact that proposals to base drug prices in the US on the prices other wealthy countries pay are the most likely way the US will have the money and interest to invest in research to end cancer and other deadly diseases. Glassman fails to consider that right now the pharmaceutical industry is price-gouging and targeting its research where it can maximize profits, not end diseases. Drugs don’t end diseases if people can’t afford them or if they are never developed.
Right now, every other wealthy nation sets drug prices. And, though it is not technically legal, millions of Americans with means are able to take advantage of those prices through importation. The FDA has never prosecuted anyone for importing drugs for personal use. So long as the US does not set drug prices, Pharma will price-gouge and set the agenda as to where to invest in research.
Moreover, our government’s failure to permit importation, let alone to import drug prices leads millions of Americans with limited assets to go without life-saving medicines. By not importing drug prices, Congress is permitting excessive pharmaceutical company profits at the cost of millions of American lives.
Setting drug prices at a level comparable to other wealthy countries makes market sense. That’s the price Americans pay when they import drugs. It’s a reasonable and quick way to level the international playing field on drug prices. And, it would generate hundreds of billions a year in savings.
If the US set prices at a level comparable to other wealthy countries or even to the Veterans Administration, it could help end cancer. Yes, Pharma innovates under the current system, as Glassman contends. But, Pharma only develops new drugs—often new versions of drugs currently available—to support its bottom line, not the needs of people with health conditions that drug companies do not think they can profit from. If the drug companies don’t see big dollar signs, their research goes in other directions.
Savings from US regulation of drug prices could be applied to a national drug innovation agenda that ensured research and development of drugs to treat untreated diseases, which might not be as profitable as drugs to treat other conditions, but that would save lives. Moreover, the US could direct development of medicines that cure diseases, an important differential, as Pharma tends to develop drugs that people take for a prolonged period, as another way to maximize profits.
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