mini project 17

Question 1: Why is it that the pharmaceutical industry is the problem child when it comes to the patent system? What is unique about the market for drugs?

Question 2: In many cases, the patent protection given to pharmaceutical innovators creates a perverse situation in which patients in the U.S. are paying substantially higher prices compared to less wealthy countries for the exact same drug produced by the same manufacturer. Opponents of Big Pharma argue that because of this, U.S. patients are indirectly subsidizing the drug for patients from less wealthy countries by paying substantial markups on domestic drugs.

This is buttressed by the fact that it is illegal to import drugs from abroad. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this argument?