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To manufacture generic drugs for the NHS at a non profit price?
Seems to be a great idea on the surface, your thoughts guys?
I know some generic drugs (ironically) cost a fortune as only one company might manufacture them and basically dictate a price to the NHS. I was one one such drug a while back.
Check @tired’s comments in the Jeremy Corbyn thread. Page 497. Seems to have a good handle on it.
I know nothing about this market, so happy to be corrected. It appears a false headline to me. Yes drug companies make lots of money but they invest heavily in R&D. Once they have a viable product they protect it and then maximise its potential. It can only be copied once the IP has expired, at which point the price has dropped and it’s possibly not worth further investment.
Paracetamol is a classic example. You can buy an expensive brand but also a box for less than 20p with the same active ingredients.
Generic drugs is a very difficult business to succeed in - it requires a relentless focus on reducing cost without compromising quality. It also requires pretty extensive long term capital investment and the recruitment and retention of a highly skilled workforce.
But anyway, this is an aside. The Labour policy essentially amounts to IP theft so the short term result would be that most pharma companies with R&D in the Uk would change their domicile to protect their IP and then offshore their R&D. The uk would be a massive loser all round - and that’s before the immediate job losses in the industry and the related job losses in research JVs etc.