Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Brands, their material base?was Re:My Take onCompetition

[Doug Henwood]

Michael Perelman wrote:

>1. The most profitable industry -- when you take a large swath -- is the
>pharmaceutical industry.  Companies that produce relatively undifferentiated
>commodities are relatively unprofitable.
>
>2. A family has to work more hours to buy a unit of medicine.

Yeah, pharmaceuticals are often described as the most profitable 
legal industry around. But 1) has profitability increased, 2) how 
much of the industry's revenue comes from out-of-pocket expenditures 
by final consumers, 3) aren't drug prices lower in countries with 
national health systems, which are in a stronger bargaining position 
than buyers in a fragmented system like the U.S., and 4) isn't demand 
pretty price-inelastic, given what people will pay for health?

Doug