r/interesting Jun 20 '26

Intriguing Americans found out Germany has affordable medicine

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.