Don't they understand this is now how freedom-loving capitalism works? See, in the new capitalism, whatever price the seller offers, you don't ask questions and simply buy. Negotiating is for commies because that will only trigger competition and/or efficiency and we all know how bad that can be for capitalism. Do we really need bad influences like this on the American system? Imagine the purchasing power of what could be the largest buyer on the planet. Surely such purchasing power would mean price cuts from the companies that already charge half the price in other countries. Oh the humanity.
Pharmaceutical companies are being forced to cut the price of high cost cancer drugs for the first time as a result of a tough new approach by the NHS medicines watchdog, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice).
In the latest example, Nice has today announced approval of trabectedin, a drug for soft tissue sarcoma, a rare cancer that can occur anywhere in the body, after the Spanish manufacturer, PharmaMar, agreed a deal which could halve the cost to the NHS.
It is the third time in the past year that companies have lowered the price of cancer drugs in order to get them approved by Nice. Similar deals were done in August with the makers of a drug for kidney cancer and in June for multiple myeloma.
One drugs expert said: "Whereas in the past companies went off in a huff when Nice refused to approve their drugs because of their high cost, now they are returning to the negotiating table to work out an acceptable deal."
