Inquirer Letter — At the mercy of drug companies — June 6th, 2020
- Nate Craig
Pharmaceutical companies are never shy about taking hundreds of millions in tax dollars to research and develop drugs. Subsidies are an integral part of their business model. The COVID-19 crisis has been no exception. Not only have they taken hundreds of millions of dollars to research cures, but several companies also took PPP money that should have gone to legitimately small businesses, whose costs are not subsidized. As expected, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not place any price controls on the drugs that would be developed with our tax money. Then on Wednesday, an industry group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, went so far as to sue the State of Minnesota. The complaint: A bipartisan insulin-aid program would deprive the pharmaceutical industry of profits it believes itself entitled to. Americans are at the mercy of a ruthless pharmaceutical industry, and have been for far too long. If we do not demand to be freed from this industry’s control now, we will never be freed.
- Nate Craig, Phoenixville, natecra@gmail.com
This letter was published in The Philadelphia Inquirer on Friday, June 6th.
