If ever there was an industry at risk of being sunk by not one but three category five hurricanes, it’s the pharmaceutical industry. Whether it’s on the political, economic, or scientific front this major contributor to our nation’s financial and physical well being is headed for wrenching transformations.
Politically, Big Pharma is at the mercy of all three branches of an increasing hostile government. The executive branch, through its regulatory agencies, has raised the cost of product development to astronomical heights. The judicial branch, through its class action machinery, has made the penalty for delivering anything short of zero-defects untenable. And the legislative branch, on its way to becoming the industry’s monopsony purchasing agent, is hell bent to drive prices down to the marginal cost of production.
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