Drugs that are made of protein are called biologic drugs.

由蛋白质制成的药物被称为生物药品。

But most biologics also have a flaw.

但是多数生物药品都有一个缺陷。

And in general, biologics are great, because they avoid several ways that drugs can cause side effects.

一般来说，生物药品很好，因为它们能避免若干药物引发的副作用。

The first is the shape of your heart-a 'biologic' biometric or static trait, like fingerprints or iris patterns.

第一种是心脏的形状，这属于“生物学”上的生物识别或静态信息，比指纹或虹膜模式。

They combine some of the best features of small-molecule and biologic drugs into one.

它们把小分子药和生物药品最好的一些特征合为一体。

Compared to small molecule drugs, and by this I mean regular drugs, like aspirin, biologics are quite large.

相比起小分子药物，这里我指的是阿司类的常规药物，生物药品分子挺大的。

The group reached final compromises on the issues of intellectual property protection for new biologic drugs, car manufacturing rules, and dairy product trading.

他们就新的生物制药知识产权保护，汽车生产规则和奶制品贸易等达成了最后的妥协。

Newer therapies called biologics can also be useful, because they block the actions of cytokines like tumor necrosis factor alpha and the interleukins.

生物制剂治疗这种新疗法同样有效，能阻断TNF-α和IL-1等细胞因子的作用。

That includes the use of medications like corticosteroids, biologic agents that block the effect of tumor necrosis factor, and even intravenous immunoglobulin which can alter the immune system’s activity.

其包括使用皮质类固醇等药物，阻断肿瘤坏死因子作用的生物制剂，甚至包括可改变免疫系统活动的静脉注射用免疫球蛋白。

Whether is a complete fossil of bacterium is problematical, it could be a part of that bacterium, it could be a section of one, but it's biologic in my view.

不论细菌的化石有没有疑问，它可能是细菌的一部分，它可能是某种切片，但是它在我眼里是个生物。

So, here is the bottom line: because of these laws, patients who require new drugs or biologics that are still under protection must pay the market price in the US.

因此，基本情况是这样的：由于这些法律的存在，需要新药或生物制剂的病人必须支付它们在美国的市场价格。

This leads us to the million (or really trillion dollar) question: Why are brand-name drugs and biologics more expensive within the U.S. than they are in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and a host of other European nations?

这就带来了一个价值百万美元(或者万亿美元)的问题：为什么名牌药品和生物制品在美国比在澳大利亚、加拿大、新西兰和许多其他欧洲国家贵？