…in this week's Post, is the story of a drugmaker choosing profits over accessibility in pricing a Hepatitis C drug. "Gilead Sciences executives were acutely aware in 2013 that their plan to charge an exorbitantly high price for a powerful new hepatitis C drug would spark public outrage, but they pursued the profit-driven strategy anyway," the Post reports, summarizing a Senate Finance Committee report this week. Why it should come as a surprise that a company chose to maximize its profits is not clear to me, but the article is nonetheless an interesting look at a drug pricing decision, including what factors were considered and how high a price the company believed it could set given public relations concerns.
Instead of expressing shock at profit-focused corporate decisions, though, policymakers should consider what they themselves can do to modify corporate behavior, increase competition, and lower prices. The companies are unlikely to do it voluntarily.
Check out the story here.
We need new windfall profits laws and we must push for prosecutions of those who gauge us.