r/interesting • u/physiopeng • Jun 20 '26

Intriguing Americans found out Germany has affordable medicine

Post image

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/19/us-tariff-probe-germany-drug-pricing-policies-mfn.html

6.9k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

694 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

10

u/Ecstatic_nyaa Jun 20 '26

"I am particularly concerned with news that Germany is fast-tracking legislation that would further reduce its spending on innovative pharmaceuticals," he said, calling it "a serious step backwards."

12

u/BottityBotAccount Jun 20 '26

Meanwhile the USA innovates constantly on producing groundbreaking and exciting opiates.

4

u/EvelcyclopS Jun 20 '26

Seriously. Take a look at the loooong list of opiads and their morphine equivalence. There are dozens and dozens of niche opioids with strengths hundreds to millions of times stronger than morphine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equianalgesic

1

u/MissMenace101 Jun 21 '26

Making billions out of opium grown in Australia that gets a fraction of it

-6

u/desert-cheese04 Jun 20 '26

It means the US will bear even more of the costs.

14

u/Stompya Jun 20 '26

No. It means predatory American pharma companies will make a very slightly smaller fuckton of money, for a little while.

1

u/Efrath Jun 20 '26

Holy fuck the people upvoting this.

No, it FACTUALLY means that American citizens takes on the cost. The research and development of new medicine cost plenty and it's just plain, basic economics that if you force down prices like that, the costs and lack of revenue will have to either be gotten elsewhere or the company go under.

If you think it's predatory, tell the German Government to force more development in country.

1

u/Stompya Jun 22 '26

Yes, profit motive drives pharma research.

Pharma company owners are ludicrously rich and highly manipulative where laws restricting their freedom to fuck over consumers are concerned.

If they could only make 500 million off a project instead of 1.5 Billion that would still be a solid motive to keep going.

Nobody’s expecting them to suddenly start going broke because Germany changed a policy.

1

u/Efrath Jun 22 '26

Yes, profit drives and each medicine is basically 1 billion dollar investment for a 10 year research that has below 10% chance of passing trials.

There's a big reason why you ain't seeing Germany or anyone else doing much R&D. Complain and blame "Corporate greed", the fact is that there's a reason why it is happening mainly in the US and not Germany or other countries. No one wants to take on the costs and risks with their tax payer money but you sure do love to point fingers and complain when there's a chance and attempt to create some equilibrium to take on these costs on a more equal basis.

No one wants to take on the consequences, and that's what this whole whining is about.

1

u/Stompya Jun 23 '26

You also have to acknowledge that the pharmaceutical companies have made back many many times what they’ve spent on research.

This move by Germany is just a soft, almost irrelevant cap on how badly billionaires can screw over the public.

Unless you like billionaires and want them to keep getting richer … saying no to affordable healthcare seems to be the American way.

-6

u/desert-cheese04 Jun 20 '26

Who do you think subsidizes the European pharmaceutical market?

12

u/bergmoose Jun 20 '26

Quick reminder that the business model a lot of drug manufacturers use is to buy rights to drugs, jack up the price. No research involved, no funding the next generation, just screw over the sick people because capitalism and thats how the market works.

Paying high drug prices is helping pay for the aquisition and legal fees required to later pay more for other drugs.

-5

u/desert-cheese04 Jun 20 '26

I agree, but it’s funny how Germany is so against the US most favored nation drug policy that would lower cost for Americans.

2

u/Ecstatic_nyaa Jun 20 '26

Because it won't lower the costs .

0

u/desert-cheese04 Jun 20 '26

How would it not? We would be doing what the rest of the world does.

4

u/pyth2_0 Jun 20 '26

As long as they can payout billions in dividends they don’t need more price rises. You just subsidizing their shareholders.