Sanders slams drugmakers' business practices in new report ahead of CEO hearing

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

In the report prepared by Democratic staff on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, longtime industry critic Sanders accused Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb of “ripping off the American people.”

For some of their most popular drugs, the report noted the companies made more money in the U.S. than the rest of the world combined.

The companies start by setting high prices for new drugs and then raise prices over time, the report found, compared with other countries where the prices fall over time.

For example, Merck began selling a vial of its cancer drug Keytruda in 2015 at an annual cost of $147,000 in the U.S. and $132,000 in Germany. Keytruda now costs $89,000 in Germany, but $191,000 in the U.S.

(snip)

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4451170-sanders-slams-drugmakers-johnson-johnson-merck-bristol-myers-squibb-business-practices-new-report-before-ceo-hearing/



It seems like Big Pharma is screwing the American People for loyalty?

[Mopar151]

1. List prices are for suckers, aka uninsured

There are so many discounts and side deals that it's hard to discover the real price. The true cost of the drug is so entwined with the cost of selling it that its almost irrelevant.