U.S. senator calls Canada a parasite

Another talking head who spouts off before having all the data. I'm an American, I'm not going to let the facts get in my way.

Sounds like the multinational pharmaceutical companies didn't by a very smart politician.

If this guy is saying that they pay more for drugs than anywhere else in the world, then it isn't just Canada that sells perscription drugs cheaper than they do. Lower your prices you greedy bastards. He unfairly singles out Canada and France to strike a nerve with ignorant people over the sensitive health care issue in the States.

This guy needs some meds. Come to Canada bud, we can hook you up cheap.

Maybe he should question how and why Canda is able to get cheap meds from American companies and thus are able to sell said meds cheaper. sounds like it's a markup problem in the states not a discount problem in Canada
This guy needs to pull his head out of his ass and look to his own backyard.

I understand the point the Senator is making, but he really needs to work on his choice of words. Canada is not a 'parasite' but that Canada and other countries are being allowed to set drug prices which push the cost of drug development onto US consumers is a matter for the WTO.
It's a topic we've covered in depth on this forum a few times in the past few years. Canada's taxation structure has pushed pharmaceutical companies into the USA where they can turn a profit and make a return on the massive cost of getting a drug approved by the FDA.
It's not mathematically feasible for a Canadian pharma firm to try to get FDA approval because when the income from the drug starts flowing Canada will not allow the firm to recover their investment before being taxed. Therefore, Canada and a number of other countries produce relatively few new drugs compared to the USA.
Then the US consumer pays for the development costs of a drug while Canadian and other world consumers pay only for the direct cost of the drug.
Really, it is a matter for the WTO to address and I don't know why the US won't press the matter in the proper forum.

Wasn't this covered before?

Also this asshat Senator should do a little more research. I think he'll find that the drugs he's talking about aren't manufactured in the US and are in fact imported. from countries that improve their bottom line.

They also include marketing in "R&D" costs to make it sound more expensive. So you can add imagine how much it costs to buy a few million physicians.

Silly Americans. The Pharmaceutical Industry makes an Appeal to Nationalism and Americans eat it up. They are being overcharged, not because other Nations are taking advantage of the US, but because Pharmaceutical Corps are taking advantage of Americans.

You're right he should see how Canada is able to provide pharacuticals at a lower price.
When I first saw this article I wanted to kick this idiot in the groin.

Is this a natioal disease that we end up with morons in Congress?

That isn't very accurate in fact it's pretty much completely wrong.

Here's the question, you're a company that makes drugs. How much return on investment should you expect for developing a new drug? 20% ... 30% ... 40%? How about 100%? Fact is most of the larger drug companies see anywhere from 100% to 200% (some even more) returns on what they put out in R&D yearly.

This isn't a question for the WTO it's a question for ethicists. How much should drug companies be allowed to make because a quick review of any of their financials will prove that their profits far exceed their R&D costs and that the "We need to charge this much so we can continue coming up with new cures" excuse is a load of BS.

A Republican, you say? Quel surpise.

Well this "parasite" is doing rather well for itself thank you very much.

Yup!