A cancer medication called Xtandi costs $189,800 per year and was developed with taxpayer dollars. The U.S. government has a responsibility for ending the exclusive patents that give them their profits. The Department of Health and Human Services is currently considering whether to allow the generic manufacturing of Xtandi, which could drop the price of a pill from $400 to $3 overnight.
Pharma Profits
QUICK READ: Pfizer has already announced a price increase to the EU for their Covid Vaccine. With a CEO who earns more than $20 million annually and the potential for billions in profit Pfizer is reminding us that Wall Street is once again their primary customer.
HEY NOW: Most companies struggled in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic froze the economy, but health insurers like UnitedHealth heavily benefited as people held off on going to the doctor or hospital, resulting in fewer medical claims that needed to be paid. In addition, pharma profit margins remain very high.
SUMMARY: Free-market capitalism is in trouble. The focus on “profits now” is leading to a mentality of short-term business practices that are harming our health and well-being for the sake of quick payouts.