Don't be fooled about big pharmacy

Don’t be fooled by the current Washington rhetoric about “reforming” the pharmaceutical industry.

Most recently, Sen. Chuck Grassley has been promoting his bill which would place inflation-based caps on Medicare drug prices. There are also proposals to eliminate “middlemen” and increase transparency in pricing. While these things would be an improvement, they don’t address the fundamental problem of a drug industry gone wild.

Thanks to our system for granting patents for new drugs, these companies are given a virtual monopoly over the sale of drugs they bring to market. They...