Three words, Mr. Clinton - research and development. Canada's pharmaceutical companies don't come anywhere close, even on a per capita basis. After complying with the demands of federal and provincial politicians to subsidize a decrepit health care system, Canadian health care companies have very little left over in the way of profits. Our companies lead the world in developing powerful new weapons against cancer, Alzheimer's, HIV, resurgent strains of tuberculosis, heart disease and many other dread illnesses. By and large, that research is paid for from pharmaceutical profits.
Ulcers are a good example.
One seldom hears much about people with ulcers anymore. That year a new anti-ulcer drug was discovered. Drugs that save lives, prolong lives and enhance the quality of life itself. Currently, U.S.-based pharmaceutical firms have 348 new medicines in development for diseases affecting women alone. Like 19th-century gold prospectors, today's pharmaceutical firms make a tremendous investment of talent, time and money in promising ventures that often lead nowhere.