Hope From Big Pharma -- and Not in Tablet Form!

In "Big Pharma's Dirty Little Secret, Peter Rost, a Pfizer VP, says there isn't any reason to ban re-importation of drugs because of safety concerns -- that drug companies are just trying to protect their profits. Re-importation of drugs at lower prices is not in itself a long-term solution to the high cost of drugs, but doing so would force domestic drug prices down for everyone who currently has to pay 'list price' -- that is, those who can least afford to: people without insurance. In his last line, Rost writes "I joined this industry to save lives, not to take them. And that's the reason I've chosen to speak out."

More people -- in government, in corporations, and in private life -- need to speak out as Rost has. Every day, more are. And I am grateful.

So let me just sit here -- my son is sleeping on my lap, and I am watching the snow blow off the roof in eddies and whorls -- let me just sit here for a moment and be grateful for Peter Rost, who gives me hope. It is an unfamiliar feeling, and I would like to bask in it.