to start with, only one out of ten drugs started makes it to market, and that one, has to pay for ALL the costs associated for all ten...
Posted on 06/19/2012 5:45:07 PM PDT by reaganator
A friend mine shared that he spent $455.00 for 12 pills. And commented, "There should be laws against this robbery." I suggested he find out why the pills cost so much, he does not seem interested in doing so, would rather continue to believe there is no cause to justify the high cost. But this has caused me to want to be better informed on this topic. I'd appreciate any info and links shared, thank you.
What is the name of the medication?
Were these “get high” pills from a dealer?
I’d suggest he pick a dealer that has less overhead.
Check the bling, the shoes, the entourage.. all those add to the price.
"Anyone who has purchased prescription medications has probably wondered why they cost so much. The media has reported on the issue of drug costs a few times with the slant usually being that drug companies are greedy, selfish, and uncaring. Therefore, it is not surprising that the public also shares this view. In their defense, the drug companies usually point to the cost of research. The media then responds with figures showing that the companies spend more on marketing than they do on research. Is the issue really as simple as greed versus the cost of research? The answer is more complicated. To shed some light onto this issue, we need to examine the process of drug development and the economics of manufacturing and selling drugs."
to start with, only one out of ten drugs started makes it to market, and that one, has to pay for ALL the costs associated for all ten...
If it wasn’t for the “ROBBER” drug companies, I am guessing your friend would be DEAD now....so $455 sounds like a bargain to me.
The average drug developed by a major pharmaceutical company costs at least $4 billion, and it can be as much as $11 billion.
I told him we need to know the name of the medication, might be too personal. He’s a liberal, does not want to discover anything that goes countyer with what he wants to believe. Is it possible to answer my question in a general sense? What causes many prescription drugs to be so costly?
I told him we need to know the name of the medication, might be too personal. He’s a liberal, does not want to discover anything that goes countyer with what he wants to believe. Is it possible to answer my question in a general sense? What causes many prescription drugs to be so costly?
I disagree that it’s robbery.
The Evil Pharmaceutical Companies spend millions to come up with new or improved drugs. For every one on the market there are hundreds if not thousands stopped somewhere along the line. All of them are taking the best and best paid minds to formulate, research, and develop the drugs. We are talking medical researches, computer experts, pharmacists and lab techs and biological scientists and etc. Add in marketing and liability, I am amazed they cost as little as they do. After a certain number of years, generics are allowed, and the Big Pharma, which has extended billions of human lives at this point, loses most if not all of its profit potential.
Take away the opportunity to make a profit on these drugs - take away the drugs. Millions are risked to get better drugs into the market. If there is no payoff, the millions will not get risked.
Either that, or he'd be under a surgeon's knife at a hospital to the tune of $455,000 instead.
I typed a query into the search bar: “Why are prescription drugs so expensive?” and got lots of responses:
http://www.rxrights.org/news-feed/why-are-prescription-drugs-so-expensive-here
This one thinks it’s the cost of advertising:
http://www.carefirst.com/pharmacy/GenericDrugs/DrugsExpensive.html
This one thinks it’s lobbyists:
http://healthmad.com/medicine/possibly-why-prescription-drugs-are-expensive-in-the-united-states/
And here’s a view from the left (Slate):
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/08/the_8000_pill.html
Lots of reasons, some more important than others...
Tell him to stop buying them
doesn’t a robber force the money from you?
My tiny little pills I take for low thyroid are about $4.50 for 30 pills, a month's worth.
mmm...
Price comparison shopping is your friend.
Only thing I’ve heard of remotely that expensive is hormone treatment for advanced prostate cancer.
Erectile dysfunction (and probably other) medications sometimes include MD consultation fees in their billing. Maybe that’s the deal here.
Prices can vary greatly depending on where you buy them. Walmart pharmacy usually cheaper (sometimes a lot cheaper)
Elaprase, used to treat Hunter Syndrome, a disease which affects about 500 Americans, costs $375,000 a year.
From what I read and heard there are two major reasons that drugs are expensive, and it’s NOT because the pharmaceutical companies are “greedy”.
One reason is the extensive and expensive process and clinical trials required to get FDA approval and remember out of several drug trials, one may be approved. Drugs in Europe are just as safe, but they don’t have such excessive requirements, before marketing them. I recall reading that there are some medications that have been available in Europe for many years, found to be effective, no problems, yet they cannot be approved in the US, without some extensive clinical trials, that the manufacturers can’t afford.
I think the other reason is that after a relatively short time — 12 years (?) some other company can just get the forumula and start selling generics, without having invested a dime in the development, so the original company that invested a great deal of money in the development, has to make back their investment and make some profit in a much shorter time.
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