This should help RX costs /sarcasm

[nate]

Pfizer confirms bid interest in AstraZeneca

 

[mtangelsfan]

Obama wont do anything about that I bet.  Its all the insurance companies fault.

[HaloMagic]

mt, don't you think businesses should be able to operate how they want?

[mtangelsfan]

great question hm, almost 100% of the time but my one pet peeve are monopolies.  I don't think they are good for anyone.  Lack of competition is the antithesis of a free market IMO.

[nate]

Drug companies already bribed Obama and the rest of his dem cronies for a free pass on Obamacare, honestly them being together probably wouldn't change much, they are already obviously act as a cartel but still, this would be a huge monopoly.  Much bigger than the proposed ATT/Tmobile merger that was struck down.

[mp170.6]

The DEA and FDA play a large part in making drugs expensive. 

 

Under the guise of "protecting our children" and "making our streets safer", these government do-gooders sometimes ration the raw ingredients in medications that are perceived to be drugs of abuse.  Prices have skyrocketed in many cases, widespread shortages have been reported, and new black markets have emerged putting legitimate patients at risk for theft, bodily harm, home invasions, etc. 

 

A medication I take went up 366% in one year thanks to Uncle Sam... on top of that, I now have to be especially careful about disposing (or losing) the prescription bottles since they have my name and address on the label.  Should one land in the wrong hands, somebody might break into my house looking to steal my current supply. 

[Lhalo]

The whole point of this acquisition is so Pfizer can move their headquarters out of the US in order to escape this county's burdensome tax laws.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/04/28/pfizer-proposes-a-marriage-and-a-move-to-britain-easing-taxes/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

[arch stanton]

That's a crock of poo. If you want your share of profit from 300 million rabid consumers then pay your fair share or piss off.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

The whole point of this acquisition is so Pfizer can move their headquarters out of the US in order to escape this county's burdensome tax laws.

 

Astra Zeneca is based in the UK. If they are planning on moving there to escape "burdensome tax laws", their corporate leadership is more ignorant that I thought. 

[Lhalo]

Astra Zeneca is based in the UK. If they are planning on moving there to escape "burdensome tax laws", their corporate leadership is more ignorant that I thought. 

 

I think they know what they are doing. It's also worth noting that other companies are probably going to do the same thing. The tax code in this country is driving away business.

 

The deal, if consummated, would most likely deprive the United States government of billions of dollars in revenue over the next decade.

Pfizer isn’t hiding this fact. Mr. Read has repeatedly told his investors about the tax-saving scheme. “It will liberate the balance sheet and tax of the combined companies,” he said over the weekend.

More ominously, the deal represents a potential tipping point in a trend among United States companies to acquire foreign competitors and reincorporate abroad in low-tax countries, a process known as an inversion.

An informal survey of bankers indicated that the trend is real. Since Pfizer announced its offer, at least a half-dozen bankers have counted more than 17 incoming calls from Fortune 500 companies requesting an analysis of merger prospects that involve an inversion.

 

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/a-deal-to-dodge-the-tax-man-in-america/