“Mr. Biden is wrong”

That was the conclusion of The Economist on his decision to suspend intellectual property protections for the makers of COVID-19 vaccines. In the article “Ten million reasons to vaccinate the world“, they write: Many experts argue that, because some manufacturing capacity is going begging, millions more doses might become available if patent-owners shared their secrets,…

Drugs in Emerging Markets

Governments in emerging markets want their citizens to have better drugs. The big pharmaceutical firms are keen to sell to them. But they are fighting bitterly over the terms. – The Economist. Should emerging markets compel companies to sell drugs to them?  As an economist, I am by nature averse to government coercion.  When people…

How to get cheap Lipitor tomorrow

Is this a spam post?  Is the Healthcare Economist working for Pfizer?  The answer to these questions are no and no. However, there are two easy ways to get the cholesterol lowering drug Lipitor for a lower price tomorrow: Buy the generic form of Lipitor Buy Lipitor According to Marketplace, on Friday Lipitor will go…