Maine has decided to allow importing of prescription drugs from countries that control the prices of said drugs. The result will be a discount for Maine residents, some decrease in the incentives and money for drug discovery and, eventually, some sort of government or private action that shuts down this gambit…
I expect that Maine’s scheme will…flounder. For starters, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration bans the importation of prescription drugs from abroad. To be sure, the agency doesn’t work particularly hard at enforcing this ban, but it exists, and a whole state that defies it is likely to find itself in court. At which point, the judge will probably tell Maine to knock it off…
[I]f Maine’s law actually increases substantially the number of people who are buying their drugs abroad, you can expect Big Pharma to find a way to close that loophole, either legally or strategically. In the meantime, the saga will be another entry in the colorful history of Maine Governor Paul LePage.
From Megan McArdle.
Governor LePage certainly has a unique style of leadership.
Is this “rebellious” attitude something that is lacking from leaders today?
We need more Governors acting like Presidents.
Be careful on that statement, not all Presidents are beneficial… Some aren’t leaders- rather great public relations representatives.
I really just meant that we should have States challenging the Feds. Decentralization of power type thing.
Absolutely not. We don’t need more states taking away the rights of their citizens.
Does Big Pharma need to be spending their capital on R&D here in the states? I’m not one for outsourcing but I do think that the human resources needed for ‘great’ drug R&D can be found elsewhere.
Allow prescription importing and let Big Pharma get the best ‘bang for their buck’ by using outsourced R&D.
“Big Pharma spends between $4 billion and $11 billion on R&D for each marketable new drug it produces.”
We need the billions of dollars to be spent here in the States.
Who does? If people want to buy their drugs abroad that means that they are getting a better deal (i.e. they are better off). Protectionism hurts the economy.
I don’t care where people buy their drugs. I just don’t want R&D to be shipped overseas. Way too much money to have leave our economy.
Exactly. This law is ridiculous. And we wonder why prescription drugs are so expensive.
So, Maine decides to circumvent the “drug approval monopoly”. Isn’t this a good thing?
I think so. Although, he’s right, it’ll get shut down.
Eventually. I am interested in seeing how long it takes for that to happen.
Could do a lot of good while it lasts.
Because Big Pharma has stacked the courts to protect its corporate interests, and paid off Republican law makers.
Bringing medicine to people who need it is always a good thing.
I hope they succeed, I want to see the under paying countries fail. Imagine the Canadians actually paying their fair share.