I agree with most of what you say. One problem with drugs is that the U.S. taxpayers fund R&D for new drugs in several ways other countries don't.
(1) The U.S. federal government protects drug patents within the country. This allows a single company to set the price, often to offset the cost of development they say. U.S. taxpayers pay for that, other countries don't.
(2) The U.S. federal government is slow to approve generic drugs. This allows the original company to continue to take in profits from (1), past the patent expiration.
(3) The U.S. federal government funds a lot of research. U.S. taxpayers pay for that, other countries don't.
A part of me thinks the rest of the world should pitch in more, but then a part of me thinks we're rich enough to shoulder the bulk of the cost of R&D drug research. I honestly don't have a good solution for lowering the costs. I'd probably change (2), but overall I want pharma companies to make money. I want them to keep researching and developing new drugs. I want science to keep moving forward. I think we're better off in the long run to pay a little extra for drugs.
- Paul