Yes, it is a very long, difficult, and expensive process to allow new drugs onto the market; but “only 14% of the total”(55) drugs that are put into the market are really new because of how long of a process it is. The problem is that most “new drugs” are really only “me-too drugs (which) are made by big competing companies to undercut their competition”. (80) These drugs aren’t “new or innovative” like the companies tell us, but in reality they are just the same drugs with only a few molecules changes and are presented to be more effective than their competitors drug that you already have in your cabinet.
So most drugs on the market are only me-too drugs, how do big companies come out with drugs that aren’t me-too drugs? Well, they buy them. “The National Institute of Health (NIH) carries out in universities, small biotechnology companies, or the NIH itself. About 90 percent of research is done by the NIH, in which the Drug companies buy later from them.”(57) This means that the actual cost of R&D is relatively low because they are buying old patents for a relatively cheap price. So the actual cost of R&D is much lower than the drug companies are telling us. So why are these drugs so expensive? Simple. Advertising. The amount that drug companies spend on advertising is triple the cost of R&D. Drug companies spend more money these days in trying to sell their product than they actually do researching it. It’s sad to see how greedy big corporations really are.
God we are so over medicated and we can't even think for ourselves to decide that these improved drugs are the same thing with.....food dye or some ineffective filler ingredient. It's like what we were saying today about insurance companies, it's sick that things put in place to serve to the people's 'best interests' don't even care. They just want to make money, not help people in need.
ReplyDeleteKelsey,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your belief that the drug companies need to start caring about the drugs they are putting out there and make sure that above all they are meeting the requirement of helping the consumer to the best of their ability. It is sad that they care more about their profit than the well being of others and I hope that one day they realize what they are doing is wrong, because if they don't, many people are going to continue to be mistreating due to the incompetence of the drug companies.