Quote:
Originally Posted by bonehead
What is to stop pharmaceutical companies from other countries from coming out with the next, "wonder" drug? We can outsource other things so can't we can do the same with the drug industry as long as it saves the consumers money.
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Big pharma is big for a reason - it takes lots of capital (both human and financial) to start up in the industry, and therefore, it favors countries with both, and the US fits the category. Where's the best undergraduate and graduate institutions? Where's the highest salaries for those with solid science degrees at both levels? Where's the economy where people want to put their money? The US.
These are some of the reasons why the US is the largest innovator in the industry, and the fixed costs of attracting the right talent, building the right labs, enforceable intellectual property rights, etc., means that you won't see pharma R&D being outsourced anytime in the near future because it simply isn't as viable elsewhere except Europe. However, because of socialized medicine, you won't see the profits, and so you don't see the same quantity of breakthroughs.