Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“Drugs are almost invariably cheap to manufacture and distribute. It would be rare that a drug would sell for more than $30 per prescription without a patent or some other form of protection from the government, and many would sell for just a few dollars, as is the case with older generic drugs. Yet, there are many drugs that sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars per prescription. The reason is the government grants the manufacturer a patent monopoly on the drug. This means that the drug faces no competition. … We will spend over $700 billion this year on prescription drugs and other pharmaceutical products. If these items were available in a free market, without patent monopolies or related protections, they would likely cost close to $150 billion.” (07/15/25)