fatslob-:O said:
What exactly is this "high-cost safety net" that you speak of ? Healthcare outcomes are more than just drug prices ... $265 per capita is only enough to cover the R&D expenses of pharma companies in the US. Does that "something" about your nation's model includes the US being a sacrificial lamb ? If so how would that help them since they're the ones being used already ? Should big pharma in the US just pass the cost of development to Europe instead ? You should be fortunate enough that your fragile model isn't facing a trade war where your nation would lose access to the most modern foreign developed medicine like how China is experiencing a crisis in their IT industry since their access to US semiconductor technology has been circumvented ... I assume that your nation simply doesn't see the value in having a independent technology sector which is a shame since your success will be entirely hinged upon if you guys cross roads with the US or not ... (with the UK leaving the EU, you now face more disunity than ever in a big and growing industry where a couple big players like the UK and Switzerland are fading from your picture) Having said all of that what exactly is your nation's biggest contribution to the global pharmaceutical industry ? |
It´s a government funded safety net that means the government covers cost above that amount, which in turn is funded by all citizens through the universal healthcare system. And you are looking at this matter from a faulty perspective since there is nothing that says R&D needs to be as expensive if you ave a proper right-off period for its benefits.
The second part you will need to prove with some facts because it just sounds made up =).
We have independent research companies. For example, Astra was founded in Sweden and later marged with Zenica to form Astrazenice, one of the world largest pharmaceutical companies.
When it comes to contributions within the field, you need to look at several key factors.
- One is publications: https://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php?area=2700&year=2017. In this area the US contributes with about 16 times more citations, yet the US is about 30 times as big as a country.
- You can also look at the global innovation index: https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/analysis-indicator where we rank fifth in the world in R&D (this is within all areas though).
- We are also fourth in the world in terms of spending on research and development: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_research_and_development_spending.
If you want a specific example of medical innovations, well the Pacemaker is a Swedish invention.
The mistake many on your side of the argument makes though, is that you don´t argue around the fact that we should look at life expectancy, not the number of innovations. If the US is such a succesful country in the medical field, why are they aranked 31 in the world? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy
