This is a side effect of regulations which prevent the competition from selling chemicals that are very cheap to synthesize. Createing monopolies and then trying to fix the ills this causes with a government monopsony seems backwards.
Regulations are, like many other forces, subject to forming equilibria. Too many, and you get EpiPen price gouging; not enough, and you get the melamine milk scandal[0].
I agree that creating monopolies and then fighting them with monopsonies is ridiculous, backwards, silly, and inefficient. But life is a coordination game[1], so too bad[2]!
