Further, in general, the drug release schedules are US -> Europe -> Asia. This is primarily for two reasons - the FDA approval process is the most rigorous in the world. It would not be outrageous to classify European drug approval process as "rubberstamping" if the drug has already received FDA approval. Essentially, the US pays the R&D of the drug costs for the rest of the world.
The second reason is that without price controls, the US price is the closest thing to a market price for that drug. Sorry, but ultimately the prices of the drug comes down to how much a life is, or more accurately, how it affects the quality of life. When price negotiations between pharma and European governments start, both sides use that data. It would be very interesting if the US went single payer to see how it would affect the European drug prices (my guess it goes up).
Side note: Asia has always been third due to underdeveloped markets and legal systems. Further Japan has in the past (I think they just got rid of it in the last 5 years) a law where drugs need to be tested on Japanese citizens before approval.
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