BradfordToday received the following letter to the editor from reader Steven Kaszab, who expresses concerns with pharmaceutical profits throughout the pandemic:
First off I need to tell you that I work for a living as a sales person. A sales manager of a Store Fixture Manufacture Firm. We try to make a profit in usual times, and are trying to survive during this time of a pandemic and economic down turn.
While so many businesses are suffering and Canadian citizens and their families are attempting to make ends meet, the pharmaceutical Industry is making huge profits.
Pfizer Corporation
2018 profits were $42.537 Billion
2019 profits were $41.339 Billion
2020 profits were $41.9 Billion
Pfizer's forecast
2021 profits between $59.4-$61.4 Billion
Huge profits where Canadians are going to be charged at $32-$41per vile.
Moderna Corporation had a profit margin of 148 per cent (Sept. 30,2020).
While we all are experiencing pandemic fatigue, Pfizer Corporation is pushing the Canadian government for tax deductions in 2021. The Canadian federal government has spent and promised to spend billions of dollars to acquire various vaccines to protect Canada's population. Since we are in a spending frenzy, perhaps we should look to the future and make some investments that will allow Canada to maintain a sound public policy in healthcare.
It is time to own our own pharmaceutical corporation. This makes sense. The Canadian investors, share holders of such a firm can produce needed medicine cheaply, or at least at a lower per cent profit as opposed to Moderna's 148 per cent profiteering.
Canadians can invest in this firm and grow their personal wealth. Furthermore, Canada can make decisions that most profiteering Pharma corporations would not.
There are rare diseases that require medicines that are presently out of reach (too high cost). We can make these cost effective by sharing costs along with more profitable medicines.
Instead of investing in useless pipelines, we can create manufacturing jobs and careers in every province in Canada. Imagine your children able to have good careers as manufacturers of useful medicines. Long term jobs for Canadians benefit.
Generic medicines provided and sold to our American neighbours. Cost effective and high quality.
If we run into an unwelcome event like a pandemic again we can immediately develop the vaccines we need, and provide these also to our neighbours at moderate prices. No longer would Canada have Big Pharma at our throats. We will carry out internal research and development and produce our medicines locally in country.
Finances can be a problem. We can partner with others but maintain complete control of our pharmaceutical destiny. Look to those sources of funds that wish to make ethical profits.
Big Pharma will cry out and claim the Canadian government has become a competitor. Sure we would be a competitor. Corporations are not good examples of the free market are they? Air Canada received over 400 million dollars from the government for wage subsidies, and promptly layed thousands off. Big Pharma is responsible for price fixing, market control efforts. The big car corporations will produce an inferior car knowing it is dangerous, with the knowledge that a percentage of those hurt may sue. They take the chance.
Corporations exist to make profit. Profit is the only living element of a corporate entity. Let's take out this greed, this misguided belief that business can only run on one thing, extreme profitability. If we own our own pharmaceutical firm we can manage our out put, our profitability, our research into those diseases that Big Pharma cares little about.
Canada's population is getting older, and our seniors are addicted to medicines. Yup. we have a population of addicts both intentional and no so much. The Opioid crisis can be managed by making Canadian made(by government owned) medicine available and managed to clients, our neighbours. Why are Opioids a scurg? They are super costly, difficult to get and mostly illegal. Canada needs to get its drug industry under control. If we are our own dealers, producers of these meds, we can bring control into the matter, and kick illegal medication out the door.
What do you think folks? We certainly cannot defeat the illegal drug industry, and the legal pharmaceutical corporations are not that different from the so called cartels.
Own, invest, manage and create hope. Less expensive medication, greater variety of medication, creating jobs and careers for the future generations.
A thought. An idea that has finally come? Talk about it among yourselves. Call your MPPs and MPs and pass the idea along. Think outside of the box. Remember the government is representative of us. We are the government. So let's do something that is different for a change.
Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
