Crashing the Party, by Ralph Nader: on Health Care


Al Gore: 1999: Pushed South Africa to respect Big Pharma AIDS patent

Gore was the co-chair of the US-South Africa Binational Commission along with President Thabo Mbeki. Gore used this position to pressure Mbeki, whose parliament was considering changes in its Medicines Act that would lower the prices of medicines. About 4 million people in South Africa were HIV-positive, & at $10,000 per patient per year for AIDS treatment, only a few would receive this chance to save their lives.

In 1999, Gore had meetings with Mbeki, declaring that such legislation would constitute a violation of the GATT trade agreement--which it was not. Without the full protection of Merck, Pfizer, and other companies' intellectual property, Gore argued, there would not be the billions necessary for further research and development. Gore, of course, would have seen no need to inform Mbeki that the growth in the industry's advertising and marketing expenditures is greater than the growth of their research budgets, or that many of the most significant drugs were financed through tax dollars.

Source: Crashing the Party, by Ralph Nader, p. 52-53 Oct 14, 2002

Ralph Nader: Military development of cheap vaccines shows up Big Pharma

[I met with] naval researchers on global infectious diseases with Congressman Sherrod Brown and his colleagues. The government's only "drug company" is in the Department of Defense, where army and naval medical scientists with incredible efficiency have discovered and tested major anti-malarial drugs, along with other drugs and vaccines now used throughout the world. This remarkable story of amazing successes with first-class science on tiny budgets, extending over three decades, shows up the exorbitant major drug companies that have no interest in investing in malaria, TB, and other infectious disease research, because they don't see enough money in it for them.
Source: Crashing the Party, by Ralph Nader, p.108 Jan 17, 2002

  • The above quotations are from Crashing the Party:
    How to Tell the Truth and Still Run for President
    Taking on Corporate Governance in an Age of Surrender    , by Ralph Nader.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Ralph Nader on Health Care.
2012 Presidential contenders on Health Care:
Republicans:
Rep.Newt Gingrich(GA)
Rep.Ron Paul(TX)
Gov.Mitt Romney(MA)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA) 		Democrats:
Pres.Barack Obama(IL)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE) 		Third Parties:
Green: Gov.Gary Johnson(NM)
AmericansElect: Gov.Buddy Roemer(LA)
>Libertarian: Jill Stein(MA)
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Page last updated: Jul 04, 2012