Guest guest Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 > SSRI-Research > Sat, 11 Sep 2004 15:29:34 -0400 > [sSRI-Research] EXPERT PRESCRIBES MAJOR RX > OVERHAUL > > Rocky Mountain News (CO) > September 3, 2004 Section: Spotlight Edition: Final > Page Number: 25D > > EXPERT PRESCRIBES MAJOR RX OVERHAUL > > Verna Noel Jones, Special to the News > > It's not your imagination. Prescription-drug prices > are spiraling out of control. Americans now spend > $200 billion a year on prescription drugs, and that > amount is growing by 12 percent a year. > > But it isn't because the drugs cost that much to > produce or that drug companies need the money for > huge amounts of research, according to Marcia > Angell. Angell blames it all on an " industry > corrupted by easy profits and greed, (which) has > deceived and exploited the American people. " > > Harsh words? Indeed. Yet they are written not just > by any disgruntled citizen but by the former > editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of > Medicine. Angell, a specialist in internal medicine > and pathology, is senior lecturer in the department > of social medicine at Harvard Medical School. Any > presidential candidate who truly cares about the > state of health care in America would do well to > pore through the frightening information on > profit-driven drug companies and an accommodating > Congress in Angell's in-depth and insightful book, > The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive > Us and What to Do About It. > > The author's approach to the subject of > pharmaceutical companies and their products is > measured, thoughtful and clearly written. She offers > a wealth of data to back up her claims, and then > proposes specific reforms for restoring the industry > to its purpose while making prescription drugs more > affordable and safer. > > The pricing of drugs is a big issue. Angell notes > that the United States is the only developed nation > that doesn't regulate drug prices. That is why > Schering-Plough, for example, was able to raise the > price of its allergy pill Claritin 13 times over > five years, for an increase of more than 50 percent, > before the drug's patent ran out. The money drug > companies collect isn't supporting huge research, as > they would like consumers to believe. The author > shows that expenditures for research and development > of drugs accounted for just 14 percent of the drug > companies' revenues in 2000. > > Where is the rest of the money going? For profit. A > lot of it. In 2001, the combined profits of the 10 > drug companies in the Fortune 500 was $35.9 billion, > which is more than the profit of all the other 490 > Fortune 500 businesses put together (or $33.7 > billion). > > Another part of the money is lavished on political > campaigns. In 1999-2000 alone, drug companies gave > $20 million in direct contributions and another $65 > million in " soft " money. They also fund the largest > lobby in Washington. > > Not so coincidentally, in the last two decades > Congress has enacted several laws that practically > ensure windfall profits to the drug companies at the > public's expense. It has passed legislation giving > companies huge tax breaks, extensions of drug > monopolies (to keep lower-priced generics at bay), > and a law preventing anyone but the manufacturer > from importing prescription drugs from another > country. > > Drug company dollars fund extensive advertising > budgets as well, which promote diseases to fit the > drugs they market, says the author. While a consumer > may experience only an occasional " sour " stomach, > persistent ads are designed to convince him that he > likely suffers from GERD (gastroesophageal reflux > disease) and needs a daily pill to keep the symptoms > at bay. > > Angell witnessed firsthand the influence of the drug > industry on medical research during her two decades > at the New England Journal of Medicine. > > She wasn't happy with what she saw. Drug companies > now have a lot of control over clinical trials of > drugs because they support the research done in > academic medical centers by faculty researchers. > This allows them to design studies that can > influence a more favorable result, says the author, > who is troubled by the possibility that much public > research is seriously flawed, and could endanger the > public's health. > > In addition, drug companies are spending less and > less time developing innovative drugs and more on > creating " me-too " drugs, slight variations of drugs > already on the market. Of the 78 drugs approved by > the Food and Drug Administration in 2002, just 17 > contained new active ingredients and only seven of > those were classified by the FDA as likely > improvements over existing drugs. > > Pfizer's Lipitor, for example, is fourth of six > cholesterol-lowering drugs of the same type. Drug > companies aren't required by law to make > head-to-head comparisons with older drugs to show > these new drugs are better. They're just compared to > placebos and only have to be proven relatively safe > and better than nothing. > > Angell says drug companies also sway doctors' > drug-prescribing choices with " food, flattery and > friendship. " In a disturbing merger of commercial > and academic interests, pharmaceutical companies > have greatly increased their involvement in medical > conferences. They also send out a virtual tsunami of > sales representatives to distribute boxloads of free > samples (as well as meals, junkets and the like) to > doctors. > > Ironically, the pharmaceuticals may have built a > house of cards, because their profits depend on > employer-sponsored insurance and state-run Medicaid > programs, which now are financially strapped and > have reached the limit on what they can pay. Angell > believes only a major reform of the drug companies, > as well as the way Congress and the medical > profession cater to them, will save both the > pharmaceutical industry and the desperate needs of > ill Americans, who can no longer afford to pay such > high drug costs. > > The author clearly points the way, but will anyone > heed the warning? > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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