RFK Jr. Is a Whacked-Out Crank, but He Is Right About the Pharmaceutical Industry

Source: Beat The Press
by Dean Baker

“[E]ven though his vaccine rants may be nonsense, RFK Jr. does have a very real point when he complains about the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry. The industry routinely exaggerates the benefits of its drugs and downplays their potential harms. … Government-granted patent monopolies, and other forms of protection, allow the industry to sell their drugs at prices that are often twenty or thirty times the cost of producing and distributing the drug. It’s rare that a drug would sell for more than $20 or $30 per prescription without these monopolies. With patent protection, drugs can sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars per prescription. With such enormous profits to be made, the industry has an enormous incentive to sell as many prescriptions as possible, even if it means misleading doctors and the public about the safety and effectiveness of their drugs.” (11/16/24)

https://cepr.net/rfk-jr-is-a-whacked-out-crank-but-he-is-right-about-the-pharmaceutical-industry/