2/20/17

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“We provide truthful information without emotion or influence from the medical establishment, pharmaceutical industry, national organizations, special interest groups or government agencies.”  Charles B Simone, M.MS., M.D.

BIG PHARMA SAYS NEW DRUG COSTS $1.3 BILLION, BUT REALLY LESS THAN $125 MILLION   February 2017  https://tinyurl.com/3v3yxesh

Other Similar Reports

DRUGS THAT COST THE MOST, EFFICACY, GLOBAL PRICES  Dec 19, 2019  https://bit.ly/2txmlNP

WEIGHT LOSS: GLP-1 PRESCRIPTION DRUGS OR NUTRIENTS LIFESTYLE   Dec 21, 2024  https://tinyurl.com/48u6hvbx

Lawrenceville, NJ (Dr Charles B Simone) – GlaxoSmithKline chief executive officer Andrew Witty said the pharmaceutical industry’s estimate of $1+ billion in average cost to develop a drug is “one of the great myths of the industry,” according to Reuters March 15, 2013.   The reason Big Pharma keeps this myth alive is simply to justify the high retail costs of prescription medicines.

We have seen revolt and change in the 2016 US Presidential election.  People are outraged by the high costs of medicines.  These high costs will break health systems’ budgets.  Big Pharma companies are raising drug prices higher and higher, not because of costs or of curing or controlling diseases, but because they can get away with it, especially in the United States.  These companies are not developing better drugs for these higher prices.  In fact, most new drugs provide no clinical advantage and one of five causes serious harm.  In 2012, 11 of 12 cancer drugs cost more than $100,000 per year and only one of them extended life for a few weeks.  

In 2016, Big Pharma aired 1.3 million ads on television for prescription and over-the-counter drugs and other health messages costing about $4.6 billion (iSpot.tv).  You’ve heard some of them.  Here’s one I sarcastically made up: ‘ABC Pharmaceuticals developed a new Drug X to treat your restless elbow syndrome.  It may cause asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.  It may even cause death.’

CONCLUSIONS

• Cost to discover new drugs is about 15% of what is estimated and 1.3% of revenues after deducting taxpayer subsidies.

• Companies raise older drug prices 20% to 25% per year – price gouging, “pay for delay,” “product hopping.” No other country allows this.  Do you pay more for last year’s car?  Please read my Report: BIG PHARMA AND FEDS BLOCKS GENERIC CANCER DRUGS

• We need to think in terms of EFFECTIVE or NONEFFECTIVE treatment and tell patients about treatments in those terms. And not pay for medicines that are NONEFFECTIVE Please read my Report: LIES IN MEDICINE

• Make Big Pharma pay their fair share of taxes, allow US taxpayers to buy medicines from anywhere, have the US Government negotiate prices downward.  My Reports: 

  • FEDS LET BIG PHARMA LEGALLY LOOT AMERICAN TAXPAYERS; 

  • PATIENT-ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS – BIG PROFITS FOR BIG PHARMA

• Make drastic changes to the FDA – approvals should be given only for EFFECTIVE treatments, not for me-too drugs, or re-packaged drugs, etc.

The public wants change.  The time is now.  Without changes to our prescription medicine pricing and our Make America Healthy Again Program (MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN), we will witness the collapse of the health system.

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES:

(1) Light D, Kantarjian H. Market Spiral of Cancer Drugs. Cancer Nov 15, 2013. Pages 3900-3902.  

(2) $1.3 billion is the estimate often used, but this number could vary from $92 million to $4.2 billion depending on the information source, and the methods used (Morgan, et al. The cost of drug development. April 2011; Health Policy. 100(1):4-17)

(c) 2017 Charles B. Simone, M.MS., M.D.