Jeff Trewhitt, a spokesman for the trade group Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America, said the lower animal drug prices stem mainly from much lower research and development costs. Consumer price differentials in the international study were smaller, but still striking. The researchers found that 17th District consumers pay 75 percent more than Mexicans, on average, for the five most popular drugs prescribed to seniors, and 95 percent more than Canadians. Congress recently passed a bill that would allow the reimportation of drugs from Canada and Mexico so they can be sold more cheaply in the United States. The 17th District consumer prices are those paid by individuals with no help from insurance or other third-party payers.
Many people pay lower prices through company health insurance plans and other group arrangements.
Trewhitt said government price controls in both Canada and Mexico account for much of the price differential. And in Mexico, more modest incomes limit the amount consumers can afford, he said. Though he acknowledged Stenholm's point that the drug companies make profits in both neighboring countries, he said the amounts are modest. And with a Canadian-style national health system, it would be extremely difficult to maintain the innovation the American pharmaceutical industry achieves with its vast research and development spending, he said. Stenholm fervently said he does not favor drug price controls in the United States.