Pharmaceutical price gouging

Solvadi, the most commonly used medicine to treat Hepatatis C, costs $1,000 per pill, which adds up to about $87,000 for the necessary 12 weeks of treatment.

But independent chemists have determined that the actual cost to manufacture the pills for a 12 week treatment is only $136.    That leaves a difference of $86,864 -- per patient treatment -- to cover research and development.

It's true that even the older medicines to treat Hepatitis C were expensive, and there is evidence that Solvadi is a better drug.   Some would say that the value of a cure is priceless, compared to death or the lifetime costs to keep a patient alive with end-stage liver disease.   But why should drug companies and their stockholders and CEOs get wealthy at sick people's expense?

There is a basic moral issue involved here, when it comes to the health of a nation.    Should that be left up to the marketplace?    Should a drug that can make the difference between life and death be subjected to the same economic forces as  a new smart phone?

Clearly, I favor humanitarian solutions over market solutions.   But there are many questions that need to be solved by ethicists and economists, as well as by politicians, and ultimately by the voters of this nation.

Ralph