In some exciting news, American pharmaceutical manufacturer Biogen says it is ready to present a new anti-Alzheimer drug, Aducanumab, for regulatory approval.
Biogen says the drug slows the progression of the neurological disorder. The BBC reports that Aducanumab targets “a protein called amyloid that forms abnormal deposits in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Scientists think these plaques are toxic to brain cells and that clearing them using drugs would be a massive advance in dementia treatment, although not a cure.”
That’s good news, but not if Americans are going to be forced to pay vast sums to access the drug while Europeans and others get it at near-cost prices.
The problem will be a familiar one: foreign governments preventing Biogen from exporting Aducanumab into their markets unless Biogen agrees to bargain-basement prices. American consumers, charged at free-market prices, are then forced to make up the difference. Because Biogen would rather make some profit on its international sales rather than none at all, it will do what most American drug companies do — agree to this extortion. This is how Americans end up subsidizing the rest of the world’s pharmaceutical use.
It’s time to right that ship in a way that is fairer to Americans. There are two solutions here. First, the government should use its Medicare purchasing volume as leverage and refuse to pay more than patients in Britain, France, or Canada. Second, the government should allow the reimportation of these drugs after they have been sold into foreign markets. That would empty foreign stocks as pharmacies abroad chose to export their drugs to America at higher prices than they could sell at home. The global market would correct in a way that established an equitable price floor.
Americans would find themselves getting a far fairer deal. Biogen deserves credit for Aducanumab, but American bank accounts shouldn’t be throttled while European accounts are shielded in accessing it.
