David Sirota is the author of "Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government - And How We Take It Back" (Crown 2006).
He writes in an editorial in The Denver Post:
Drug industry lobbyists tell Congress that more trade deals are necessary to help consumers all over the world gain expanded access to medicine. Yet, at the same time, The Associated ess recently reported, "the pharmaceutical lobby pushed back against a renewed effort in the U.S. Congress to pass a law enabling American consumers to buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and other countries." The bipartisan legislation would allow individuals and pharmacies to order lower-priced FDA-approved drugs from 19 countries.
The industry claims its opposition is motivated by safety concerns, even though other industrialized countries that have long engaged in drug importation have reported no safety issues, and even though our own FDA told Congress it could not produce even one example of counterfeit medicines harming American consumers who already travel to Canada to purchase medicines.
The real motivation is obvious: Drug companies want free trade deals to expand their patent reach in other countries, but ultra-protectionist measures here at home - all in order to keep consumers paying inflated prices.
What's troubling about this behavior is not that Corporate America pursues profit at all cost, but the admission of corruption inherent in the utter disregard for consistency. When moneyed interests no longer even hesitate to contradict themselves in presenting arguments to Congress, they signal an assumption that hypocritical policy rationales can now be entirely trumped by big campaign contributions. And with Washington policymakers happily embracing such dishonesty, the problem for the rest of America is that this assumption is entirely accurate.
Full editorial here
1 comment:
One of the best examples of a Corporation shoving a product they don't need, really don't want and isn't what is best for them is about to occur with the Pfizer drug Exubera.
No doctor in his right mind is going to prescribe it. It isn't more effective and costs more than the correct regime.
So what is Pfizer going to do?
Why not turn Doctors in to drug dealers that give Patients what Pfizer tells the patients to ask for.
This billion dollar Direct To Consumer campaign by Pfizer needs to be watched. It's going to be the best example of a corporation shoving down the throats of sick people the wrong solution all in the name of the all mighty dollar.
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