T. Gorton: “Good health is one of life's greatest blessings. Over the last 25 years, there has been a tremendous change for the…”

“Good health is one of life's greatest blessings. Over the last 25 years, there has been a tremendous change for the better in the delivery of health care. New drugs help to prevent heart disease and provide better treatments for cancer, allergies, depression, and many other debilitating conditions. In short, prescription drugs can help people live longer, lead healthier, happier, more productive lives--and can help lower the overall cost of health care. We all applaud. The United States leads the world in the development of new drugs. Almost half of the new drugs developed in the last 25 years were created in the USA. But new drugs are expensive to develop. Only one of every five candidate medicines will turn out to be effective, be approved by the FDA and make it to drug store shelves. Last year, the drug industry spent $24 billion on research and development. U.S. taxpayers also invest $18 billion every year in the National Institutes of Health, which provides grants for basic health research. Drug companies that are willing to take on the risk of developing new treatments receive tax credits for their research and development costs. Yet when American consumers pick up their prescription at the drugstore they pay again for research and development in the form of higher prices. Why? Every other developed country imposes some form of price control.”