What happened to Europe's vibrant drug industry? Just a decade ago, more than two-thirds of all drug research was conducted in Europe. Now, 60% is conducted in the United States. Major European drug makers such as Aventis, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline have shifted significant portions of their research operations from the Continent to the U.S. and beyond. And human talent continues to … [Read more...] about Europe's Ailing Drug Industry
Archives for December 2005
Europe’s Ailing Drug Industry
What happened to Europe's vibrant drug industry? Just a decade ago, more than two-thirds of all drug research was conducted in Europe. Now, 60% is conducted in the United States. Major European drug makers such as Aventis, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline have shifted significant portions of their research operations from the Continent to the U.S. and beyond. And human talent continues to … [Read more...] about Europe’s Ailing Drug Industry
Year-End Thoughts
As the year comes to a close, we clearly see progress toward greater freedom in the health sector - not in leaps but in small steps. As we have learned all too well, health care is far too important for people to tolerate bold change. The best way to make progress is through new incentives that allow people to choose change gradually rather than to have it forced upon them all at once. A good … [Read more...] about Year-End Thoughts
Interpreting Surveys
Critics have taken another hit at consumer-directed health care with a new survey by The Commonwealth Fund and the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). The survey reports that "individuals with more comprehensive health insurance were more satisfied with their health plan than individuals in high deductible plans" and that people with consumer-directed plans spent more out of pocket and … [Read more...] about Interpreting Surveys
Change is Coming
The Consumer Directed Health Care Conference, being held this week in Washington, shows the growing interest in this new movement. More than 1,000 people registered for the conference, and many of the attendees are leaders with top companies from outside the health sector, such as Microsoft, Intel, General Electric, Fidelity Investments, and JP Morgan, as well as a long list of companies from … [Read more...] about Change is Coming
Don't Monkey With Seniors' Medicare Savings
Seniors across the country are trying to understand the new Medicare drug benefit. They have a strong incentive to get up to speed: Once the program launches in January, it will cut individual prescription drug bills by as much as two thirds. The innovative drug benefit, created by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, or MMA, combines generous public spending with real competition among … [Read more...] about Don't Monkey With Seniors' Medicare Savings
How Europe's Drug Industry Lost Its Mojo
An idea gaining currency on both sides of the aisle proposes that the U.S. government step in and "negotiate" drug prices for Medicare recipients. Lawmakers should stop and consider the fate of the pharmaceutical industry in Europe, where this practice is widespread, before they go down this misguided path. Medicare-eligible senior citizens consume about 45 percent of all … [Read more...] about How Europe's Drug Industry Lost Its Mojo
Don’t Monkey With Seniors’ Medicare Savings
Seniors across the country are trying to understand the new Medicare drug benefit. They have a strong incentive to get up to speed: Once the program launches in January, it will cut individual prescription drug bills by as much as two thirds. The innovative drug benefit, created by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, or MMA, combines generous public spending with real competition among … [Read more...] about Don’t Monkey With Seniors’ Medicare Savings