Political Quotes

“There are enormous implications if we allow the Canadian Government to deny and basically say to the company: Either take it at this price or we will go ahead and manufacture it ourselves. By the way, once they license it in Canada, the Canadian manufacturer can appeal to the government and say: Look, yes, we are manufacturing it here, but for us to make a profit, we have to export some because we have to make it in sufficient quantities. And if that is approved, they can send the drug back here to the United States. Our companies could do all the research, expend all the money, and then be forced not to be able to sell the drug. In that case, the Canadian Government will say, it is not important enough. If you don't give it to us at the price we want, you lose the competition between three other drugs that may be similarly situated. You just don't sell the drug in Canada. Or, if we think it is important enough, if we think it is vital to our national health and you don't want to sell it to us at a price we believe is reasonable, we will have compulsory licensing. They simply license it to another. That is not some far off concept. Right after the anthrax scare in the Senate, the Canadian health minister said that if they cannot get enough quantities of Cipro, they were going to revoke the patent of Bayer and produce it in Canada. So just understand, this is not a theoretical concept. This is a real concept.”