THERE AIN'T NO FREE RIDE IN THE STATES ANYMORE KIDS!

Dear Friends:

Thanks to an accident of birth, or the result of choice, we Canadians are all blessed with a form of universal health care that the government takes care of! (This is a form of socialism, but don't think it's free ....., we pay for it with our taxes.)

Now the big shit at Pfizer (drug company) is mad because they don't make as much money from Canadians as they do ripping off the Americans ....., due to the difference in health care systems and government involvement. As a result he issued the following statement:

Canada ‘Freeloading' Off American Innovation, Pfizer CEO Says!

That's right kids, here's what he said:   

Canada and other countries with universal health care systems are keeping drugs cheap by “freeloading” off of American innovation, says the chief executive of one of the world’s largest pharma companies.

“Canada is cheaper because of drug rationing. And Canada is cheaper because ... it free-rides off American innovation,” Pfizer CEO Ian Read said in an appearance at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. last week.

 Pfizer CEO Ian Read argues Canada enjoys lower pharmaceutical costs than the U.S. because it's "freeloading" off American innovation. (Photo: Adam Hunger/Reuters)

 (This guy even looks mean!)

 

Asked what he would do about it, Read suggested negotiating tougher free trade deals that would reduce the ability of governments to pay less for drugs, such as through longer patent terms.

“You need good trade agreements where intellectual property is protected,” he said, according to a transcript of the appearance. Read noted Pfizer did not support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) because it did not do enough to extend pharma patents.

(OH, DID I MENTION THAT  IAN READ IS A GOOD FRIEND OF DONALD DRUMPF?)