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Harvard Study Reveals Drug Prices Are High In U.S. Because Government Grants Monopoly To Big Pharma

The US government is dealing the cards and the deck is stacked in favor of Big Pharma. The result of this rigged game is prescription drug prices that greatly exceed those of other developed nations. Pharmaceutical industry apologists downplay the fact that the same drug will cost more in the US than elsewhere but a recent Harvard study lays bare their transparent excuses. Anonymous reported "the high cost of drugs in the United States is due to the country’s government granting of monopoly to the big pharmaceutical companies manufacturing the drugs" and there was no evidence that inflated prices are "a direct result of high research costs associated with the development of drugs."

The recent EpiPen scandal is a cautionary tale. This life saving intervention contains about $1 worth of epinephrine but its price has been increasing at an exponential rate in recent years. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected the generic version (made by Teva) and Sanofi's Auvi-Q, another alternative, was pulled from the market due to problems with dosing. This is just another high profile example of the FDA protection racket that shields Big Pharma from competition and gives them free reign to gouge the consumer.