The case quickly will become a cause celebre, and not only because it will pit the passionate, articulate and media-savvy AIDS community against the increasingly despised drug companies. It also will crystalize fundamental changes being wrought to the world economy by globalization. For as long as there has been international commerce, companies have sold the same goods for different prices in different lands. Globalization just makes comparison shopping easier. The many-price strategy is logical.
Rich people can afford to pay more than poor people.
So if a company wants to sell its goods to poorer people, it has to charge them less. As long as the poorer people pay just a bit more than it costs the company to make the product, the deal is profitable for everyone. The economics of this situation are especially interesting in the case of drugs. Drug companies sell patented products, meaning they have no competition and no market constraint on the prices they can charge. The situation is exacerbated in the U.S. because no laws regulate drug prices, insurance covers the cost of many drugs, the government is considering subsidizing drug costs for people with little or no insurance, and advertising is allowed to stimulate demand.