That's the thing. It's NOT expensive. You in America only think it is because that's what you've been charged. Your healthcare system jacks the price way up. They charge you $20 for a bandaid or something. It's ridiculous. This stuff isn't that expensive. I had to go and get some antibiotics a little while ago, it cost me about $15 for 20 tablets, enough to last me for 10 days.
We've got a thing called "Bulk Billing." Here's a bit on how it works.
Bulk billing for medical services
I think it is better to say - it is always expensive but USA makes it Eyewateringly expensive!
In the UK our utterly dreadful NHS costs 180bn. But that ignores the 90bn Negligence claims in process (Which will be funded by taxpayer) and it cost 100bn for a single year for the effect of inflation on the pension scheme ( I hate to think what next years upgrade is!)
Add that up and it is well over 25% of total government revenues for a year.
In covid it did far less than its usual pitiful best.
Age is costing serious money. As is the fact in the UK staff are creaming the service ( many retiring early to return on contractor rates which are double! so taking 2.5 salaries), in the USA corportations are creaming it, and in both places negligence lawyers are creaming it even more.
In my view medics are the greediest people on the planet. They create no wealth themselves, so cream ever more from the struggling part of the economy that generates all the jobs and wealth. It is a job for life.
YOu can argue whether "bezos is greedy" but the bottom line is nobody has to shop at amazon, for years it ran at a massive loss, and it has indeed made the cost of selling goods very low compared to the high street. You get a shop in the busiest mall on earth, for zero rent. only commission It succeeds because of the no risk deal. Its where all the people are. With medics you get a choice of greedy people.
My sympathy is actually with big pharma, not least because I helped start a biotech company.
Pharma are the real miracle workers.
Medics are forced to keep to a script, and the pharmaceuticals are already proven by the time they use them.
The scientists are cleverer but get none of the perks, they do a far harder job. Most will lose the job at least twice because drugs fail, and companies fail. People misunderstand profits. Most drugs fail Most drug companies go bust. It costs $500m to launch a successful drug, all out of profit,
yet people speak of big pharma profiteering. They need the profit to do more trials! Most of that money goes into trials. It costs eg 200m for a full phase 3. You guessed it. A lot of that money goes back to medics for allowing their patients to be involved with trials. The Pharma takes all the risk. THe medics take much of the reward.
One major impact would be if FDA reduced the severity of trials. (which relies on patients of all race, age , and condition)- for small requirement drugs it becomes prohibitive. Also if patents were lengthened. It takes 7 years to develop a drug, after which only a very short window is left before generics step in. So nobody wants to invest any more.
Society needs to think this through. The real reason there are no new antibiotics, is that at the expected price pharma has to sell them, they are uneconomic for pharma.