I was reading an online article in Forbes, regarding a survey seeking to evaluate Americans opinions of the pharmaceutical industry. It found that only 34% of Americans ranked the pharma industry as “good” or “excellent.” What is driving this negative view of our pharmaceutical industry? The patient groups that participated in survey cited a number of areas where pharma was rated as having a “poor” record including: 1) A lack of fair pricing policies leading to unseemly profits (50%) 2) A lack of transparency in all corporate activities (48%) 3) Management of adverse event news (37%) 4) Acting with integrity (32%) I have long been troubled by the fact that Americans foot the bill for the vast amount of drug research conducted in the world. If you live in Canada, Japan or Europe, you pay considerably less for the same drug that was developed and produced here at home. When my daughter came down with a pretty severe respiratory infection in Italy she was able to get an albuterol inhaler over the counter for roughly $5. That same inhaler costs roughly $50 in the US. Prices are hard to negotiate - Pharma spent more on lobbying Congress than defense contractors. I can understand why many people are frustrated. For article on medication pricing, interesting read. nytimes/2013/10/13/us/the-soaring-cost-of-a-simple-breath.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 17:00:00 +0000