Quote:
Originally Posted by macocael
That is the line I often hear, but I have also read in several articles that in fact pricing is geared more toward sustaining the companies' huge advertising budgets, and let's face it, they are much more concerned about marketing drugs like viagra than the next cure for some unsexy disease like irritable bowel syndrome! Or helping developing nations to eradicate epidemic diseases. Many people here in DR go without simple but necessary medications like Flourinef, cortisone, pain relievers (and I dont mean NSAIDs) and so one, simply because we have an inadequate supply and the prices are exorbitant. I worked for a short while at Pfizer too, back in the early 80s, and my college roommate became one of their lab researchers.
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Macocael, Et Al;
While you're researching the BASIC costs involved of developing and marketing a drug product, you might also research the extremely high IMPORT taxes imposed on drugs here in theDR.
The average price of a bottle of 81gr asperin is about 4 times the cost of the same product in the USA. Is that the fault of themanufacturer, or the added costs by the DR Customs Agency? I think the latter.
It ain't all black and white, partner.
That the US wants an additional market for its products (and there are literally THOUSANDS of them) you can rest assured thaat they will be priced competitively with the brands (local ones ) that they will be competing with. That's the way US businesses are run. If they can't meet the competition, they'll withdraw from the market altogether or try a different marketing strategy. In addition, the US Gov't doesn't subsidize any FINISHED products that I am aware of. The DR businesses screaming the loudist against DR-CAFTA are the ones who DON'T WANT any competition from ANY quarter. They prefer having a MONOPOLY on their product.
The DR, in reality, practices PROTECTIONISM on imports that will compete with the home-grown variety of product. Along those lines, the US has "thrown open the gates" to imports from other countries and has abandoned Protectionism altogether. While they may subsidize certain food products, mostofthe added costs of the finished product lies in the middle between the producer and the final manufacturer. It's the price oftheRAW MATERIAL (corn, sugar, wheat, cotton) that is supported in ORIGINAL SELLING PRICE, not in the various stages of buy/sell beyound the farmer who grew it to begin with. Take a look at the Commodities Market and the difference between what is bought/sold there and thefinished product on the shelves at the Grocers. There is a HUGE difference in between.
I think you'll find that the real culprit in the market in theDR is theCustoms Agency. They arbitrarily set the value of ALL incoming products to suit the requirements ofathe proposed budget. Totally unrealistic prices are placed on all these products in order to maximize the income of the Government.
Look at that if you want to see "Unfair trade practices". Customs Duties are reduced by 20% and the Customs places an aditional 20-30 percent price hike on the item. Simple math.
Texas Bill
I'd enjoy filling those "skulls full of mush".
