jyro
10-16-2004, 09:58 PM
http://a100.g.akamai.net/f/100/12645/72h/kerry.download.akamai.com/12645/101604_flu_qt_dsl.mov
This crisis is the result of a series of policy decisions dating back a decade. In 1994, First Lady Hillary Clinton led an effort to enact the Vaccines for Children program, and the government now purchases 60% of all pediatric vaccines.
The government has dictated prices to manufacturers that are often below costs, and many suppliers have been forced out of the market, unable to make a profit at 15 cents a dose, in some cases. At the same time, the cost of manufacturing and the cost of complying with increasingly burdensome regulation have gone up.
Other manufacturers watched and saw that this clearly is not a good business to be in.
The Manhattan Institute held a forum in 2002 to analyze the problems, and it forecast today's shortages. At that forum, Wayne Pisano of Aventis said that just two decades ago, there were a dozen companies making vaccines, most of which have left the market or been driven out by a variety of pressures.
Henry Miller, M.D., of the Hoover Institution said this "should be the golden age of vaccine development" because new biologic technologies are available. "But there is scant enthusiasm for vaccine development in the drug industry."
This is a clear warning to those who would try to impose price controls on the pharmaceutical industry. They would predictably force many companies out of business, supplies would be dislocated and even vanish, and, most importantly, research for tomorrow's medical miracles would dry up.
This crisis is the result of a series of policy decisions dating back a decade. In 1994, First Lady Hillary Clinton led an effort to enact the Vaccines for Children program, and the government now purchases 60% of all pediatric vaccines.
The government has dictated prices to manufacturers that are often below costs, and many suppliers have been forced out of the market, unable to make a profit at 15 cents a dose, in some cases. At the same time, the cost of manufacturing and the cost of complying with increasingly burdensome regulation have gone up.
Other manufacturers watched and saw that this clearly is not a good business to be in.
The Manhattan Institute held a forum in 2002 to analyze the problems, and it forecast today's shortages. At that forum, Wayne Pisano of Aventis said that just two decades ago, there were a dozen companies making vaccines, most of which have left the market or been driven out by a variety of pressures.
Henry Miller, M.D., of the Hoover Institution said this "should be the golden age of vaccine development" because new biologic technologies are available. "But there is scant enthusiasm for vaccine development in the drug industry."
This is a clear warning to those who would try to impose price controls on the pharmaceutical industry. They would predictably force many companies out of business, supplies would be dislocated and even vanish, and, most importantly, research for tomorrow's medical miracles would dry up.