“大制药”是一个正常的行业

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION FOUNDATION|MAY 2025CONTENTSKey Takeaways................................................................................................................... 1Introduction....................................................................................................................... 2Normal Profits ................................................................................................................... 3Pricing Realities................................................................................................................. 5Early Access ...................................................................................................................... 6The Pace of Development.................................................................................................... 6Endnotes........................................................................................................................... 8INTRODUCTION“Big Pharma” has long been a target of the anti-capitalist, left populists who want to transformthe sector by imposing strict price controls, weakening patents, and/or instituting a government-run drug development system, all of which would slow the development of important new drugs.The calls for radical change are legion. The liberal Center for American Progress has proposed awide array of policies to reduce drug prices, including price controls and reducing the period ofdata exclusivity (the time which companies can keep data proprietary).1Progressive economistDean Baker has urged lawmakers to “expand the public funding going to NIH or other publicinstitutions and extend their charge beyond basic research to include developing and testingdrugs and medical equipment.”2Liberal commentator Robert Reich has proposed reducing drugpatent terms from 20 years to three, while Knowledge Ecology International, a leading drugpopulist organization, wants to eliminate drug patents, especially in developing economies.(Eliminating patents would make available more generic versions of today’s drugs, but alas, fewnew drugs.)Now the new populist, anti-corporate right under President Trump’s leadership is making thesame proposals, particularly when it comes to drug pricing. Trump wants to implementinternational reference pricing whereby drugs in the U.S. would be priced at the same level asother countries that impose drug price controls.If the populists can show the free-market system has failed, then fundamentally transforming thebiopharma industry becomes much easier. But the facts show otherwise.To justify such a dramatic shift, both left and right proponents need to discredit the currentprivate-sector-led model that has made America the world leader in pharma and biopharmainnovation.4They must convince policymakers and the public that the drug industry no longerserves the public interest of effectively delivering new drugs. To do this, they claim that theindustry earns excess profits from rapidly rising drug prices, spends too much money on stockbuybacks and advertising, and too little on new drug development. If the populists can advancethese claims and show that the free-market system has failed, fundamentally transforming theindustry becomes much easier. But the facts show otherwise. PAGE 23 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION FOUNDATION|MAY 2025NORMAL PROFITSStart with profits. The populists argue that drug prices are high because profits are excessive.Moreover, they claim, there is plenty of money for the industry to develop drugs, even if itsrevenues are significantly lowered as a result of price controls or reduced intellectual propertyprotection. They rationalize this assertion with claims of excess profits and wasted spending.U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued ascathing report in 2021 titled “Killer Profits,” attempting to make the case that the industrymakes too much money.5Two years earlier, the Center for American Progress made the sameclaim that “Big Pharma Reaps Profits.”6More recently, the self-described “democratic socialist”Senator Bernie Sanders (VT), has claimed that “Greedy pharma firms rip off Americans.”Notably, these critiques span the political spectrum. Figures on the right, including PresidentDonald Trump, have voiced similar concerns. Trump stated in January, “We’re the largest buyerof drugs in the world. And yet we don’t bid properly. We’re going to start bidding. We’re going tosave billions of dollars over a period of time.”The reality is that, when adjusting for risk and comparing it to other industries, pharmaceuticalfirms’ profits are not excessive, nor are drug prices driving up overall health-care expenditures.Researchers Sood, Mulligan, and Zhong compared excess profits of pharmaceutical companiesand S&P 500 firms.9They defined excess profit as “higher than expected profits given the riskassociated with their investments” and found that pharmaceutical co