Drug Firms Say, 'No, Canada'

SACRAMENTO — The name they picked is Cures, but the drug makers, biotech millionaires and pharmacists who founded the group aren't searching for the next miracle drug.


They are looking for votes from the California Legislature.


The lobbying group is just one of several altruistic-sounding entities with financial links to the drug industry that have materialized around the Capitol. They want to kill a flood of legislation — including four measures being voted on this week — that would ease the way for drug imports from Canada.

snip

Consumer groups, however, say drug companies are only concerned about profits and not individual drug tabs estimated at $4,900 a year in the U.S., compared with $2,800 in Canada.

more

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&e=1&u=/latimests/drugfirmssaynocanada

is GOOD! Always.

The bigwigs in both parties have been telling me that for years.

This does not compute. I will try not to develop a headache over this as I cannot afford a remedy.

doesn't do anything.

How did we get to the point where the dollar has become more important than people's lives?

Greed has become our undoing, and we are already beginning to pay for it.

industrial complex and you've just described the post modern politcal, and monarchical power structure.
against it -- the little guy -- and to all you politicians out there -- you are the little guys in this case -- there is no chance in hell of gaining an advantage right now.

admit that their wonderful corporations actually don't give a shit about free enterprise. They want monopoly -- with them at the top. And they have NO interest in anyone's health, welfare, or economic condition -- you can't afford it, you don't get it. And you die.

Maybe THEN we can design a government that recognizes this, and represents us as people, and reins in corporate power.

Right. Dream on.

This is not a very good idea.

It will force up drug prices in Canada and more importantly it will take off the pressure to reform the US system by siphoning off a portion of those suffering under high drug prices.

Unless EVERYONE in the US is going to buy their drugs offshore, then all that will happen it that the 'reform' lobby will weaken and BigPharm will re-coup their profit loss by jacking up drug prices on patent drugs and those drugs that people in the US system have to buy domestically.

The real solution is obviously to open up competition in the US by changing the ridiculous protections that BigPharm receives in the US...make it easier to manufacture 'generics' stateside is one start.

when purchases from Canada and overseas reach a certain critical mass, the Pharma companies will have no choice but to lower their U.S. domestic prices drastically. They'll still make money--geez, they wouldn't ship drugs to Canada if they weren't making a bundle on each transaction.

Nothing wrong with encouraging generic production too, but we already have some measures aimed at that. What about the development costs for new drugs that draw on taxpayer-financed research? Can a way be found to "charge back" the pharmaceutical cos. if they claim sky-high prices and profits are necessary to recover their costs for these?

"Cures" and "Californians United for Research, Economic Development and Saving Lives."

If Kerry becomes president, he NEEDS to reinvigorate the FTC and promulgate rules that go after these dishonest naming conventions- it's is a systemwide problem that goes far beyond the drug industry.

Moreover, he needs to reinstate the ban on television and radio advertising that Bill Clinton's FDA got rid of- at all of our expense. Not only are those misleading at best) but they add hundreds of millions to advertising and marketing costs (which we pay for).

on tv anyway, and I love it.