Byron Dorgan: “this is a medicine called Celebrex, made by Pfizer. These bottles are large containers that happen to be empty. It would…”

“this is a medicine called Celebrex, made by Pfizer. These bottles are large containers that happen to be empty. It would contain 500 capsules; 200 milligrams, the usual adult dosage, it says. As you can see, this other bottle is also Celebrex. It is the same pill, made by the same company, put in the same bottle. The only difference in these bottles is the color on the labels is a bit different, but the pills that were inside were the same. This one bottle is sold in the United States and the other is sold in Canada. What is the difference? Well, the U.S. consumer pays $2.93 per capsule out of this bottle. The Canadian consumer pays $1.32 out of the other bottle. So the one costs almost $3, the other just over $1. The American consumer is charged double the price of the Canadian consumer. It is the same pill, put in the same bottle, made by the same company, at an FDA-approved plant, sent to two different places, and the American consumers pay two and a half times more than the Canadian consumer. Why is that the case? Well, the drug industry says they charge that price in the United States because they can and because they must in order to gather the funds for research and development. But, of course, the record shows that is not the case either. The drug industry actually spends more money on marketing and advertising than they do on research and development.…”