>>>>>>>>BTW, I still don't understand why are American pharmaceutical companies selling their expensive drugs in other countries so far below its market price? I mean, the price here is the honest market price - what they sell them for in Canada must be unfair competition.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Two words : Price controls
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Of course, you already knew that.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>but it did not fit to the task: corporation must be guilty.
>>>>>
>>>>>It's all so easy if you ignore all governmental blockades to a free market, you can then blame corporations for not being fair and proclaim the free market doesn't exist.
>>>>
>>>>Actually, 'blame corporations first' demagogues are a bit more sophisticated. They tell that 'free market does not work properly and should be improved', by applying another batch of blockades and prohibitions.
>>>
>>>Yes, and they should be ashamed. The corporations should be free to sell a $0.11 drug at $250, if the market can take it.
>>
>>The very idea of free market includes price mechanism based on supply/demand. It means that some company can sell some product for, let say, $250 unless another company comes up with the similar product selling it for $200. At this point, the first company will have to cut prices.
>>It is very amusing that I have to explain you these simple things.
>
>A problem is that the company that produces the drug is probably owned by the same company or investment group that owns the insurance company that pays for it. They wind up paying themselves whatever they want to charge and the policyholder gets stuck with (more than) the full bill eventually.

I don't think you would be able to come up with any example confirming your point of view. There is a great misunderstanding among general public in regard to drug development process. It takes many years (10 years is not an exaggeration), multiple studies, including country- and worldwide trials, very tedious FDA approval process and all kinds of surrounding litigation. It means that operating expences (i.e. direct manufacturing costs to produce medicines) are just a small fraction of total costs incurred by a pharmaceutical company to bring it on market.