Crooked Drug Companies

mojogirl67

I recently posted about pharmecutical companies being concerned with profit only and doing anything to control the market. The link below is an article that made headlines this morning..need I say more.

https://news.yahoo.com/u-states-sue-teva-19-other-drug-companies-135226843--finance.html

beaumontdave

There has got to be a way to

There has got to be a way to limit profit percentage, especially in cases of a near monopoly of a medicine. New medicines need the profit motive to create the incentive, but it needs to be limited more than patent law allows when passed a certain window of time. The older meds should be subject to stringent rules of profit taking.....................................Dave

SandiaBuddy

Government production

The government, which often funds the research for creating these drugs, could also produce these drugs for pennies on the dollar of the current costs.

Annabelle41415

Although some drug companies are making good profits off of these drugs I can't help but thank them for the research and dedication that a lot of the workers go into making and testing these drugs.  You might be against profits, but the profits continue the research and I'll never be against that.  The USA has made significant strides in a lot of great drugs throughout the years so being glad that those drugs can help people should be a plus. 

Kim

PhillieG

Annabelle41415 said:

Although some drug companies are making good profits off of these drugs I can't help but thank them for the research and dedication that a lot of the workers go into making and testing these drugs.  You might be against profits, but the profits continue the research and I'll never be against that.  The USA has made significant strides in a lot of great drugs throughout the years so being glad that those drugs can help people should be a plus. 

Kim

Good Point

Hi Kim, I was hoping someone would bring that up. I have a niece who works for a major pharmaceutical company who has come up with some breakthrough treatments with immunotherapy. It takes a lot of time and money to develop new treatments. Companies should be able to make some money from their investment.

I guess the question is ‘How much should they make?’. I don’t know the answer to that. What I find even more disturbing are the companies whose sole purpose is to buy smaller companies so they can charge more money for drugs that many people need like diabetes or HIV drugs.

mojogirl67

beaumontdave said:

There has got to be a way to

There has got to be a way to limit profit percentage, especially in cases of a near monopoly of a medicine. New medicines need the profit motive to create the incentive, but it needs to be limited more than patent law allows when passed a certain window of time. The older meds should be subject to stringent rules of profit taking.....................................Dave

Agree 100%

I am not against profit, just robbery. I agree with you completely. When the almight dollar is involved, I'm not sure what the answer will be...hugs, M

mojogirl67

SandiaBuddy said:

Government production

The government, which often funds the research for creating these drugs, could also produce these drugs for pennies on the dollar of the current costs.

You Would Think...

Yes, they could produce these drugs for pennies on the dollar. Will that happen? I think not. I never realized what the saying "money is the root of all evil" truly meant. I do now..All the best to you!!..Hugs, M

mojogirl67

Annabelle41415 said:

Although some drug companies are making good profits off of these drugs I can't help but thank them for the research and dedication that a lot of the workers go into making and testing these drugs.  You might be against profits, but the profits continue the research and I'll never be against that.  The USA has made significant strides in a lot of great drugs throughout the years so being glad that those drugs can help people should be a plus. 

Kim

Not Against Profit..Against Robbery

Your sense of gratitude shines thru in every response you post and I admire that. I practice gratitude in all aspects of my life. However, when I have family members, neighbors, and friends who have to make heart wrenching choices of paying their bills, buying groceries,  filling outrageous prescription costs, paying outrageous co-pays/ medical bills, I can not turn a blind eye or bury my head in the sand. It is just simply wrong and when you are fighting for your life, you are at the mercy of many crooked and "for profit only" entities. Just like any walk of life, you have the good peppered in with the bad.  The medical arena in reference to drugs, insurance and related care is out of control and there has to be more regulation but money and greed contol it from the highest levels. Precious human life should come first ahead of profits period but it doesn't. When the CEO of a company sits high on the hill in his billion dollar mansion looking out over the ocean, the last thing he'll think about will be  the little old lady with her sweater on who chose not to pay her heating bill so she could pay for her prescriptions. Those little old ladies have been my family members so I will continue to speak out about this and pray that love and compassion for human life will some day triumph over the all-mighty dollar.....M

SandiaBuddy

mojogirl67 said:

Not Against Profit..Against Robbery

Your sense of gratitude shines thru in every response you post and I admire that. I practice gratitude in all aspects of my life. However, when I have family members, neighbors, and friends who have to make heart wrenching choices of paying their bills, buying groceries,  filling outrageous prescription costs, paying outrageous co-pays/ medical bills, I can not turn a blind eye or bury my head in the sand. It is just simply wrong and when you are fighting for your life, you are at the mercy of many crooked and "for profit only" entities. Just like any walk of life, you have the good peppered in with the bad.  The medical arena in reference to drugs, insurance and related care is out of control and there has to be more regulation but money and greed contol it from the highest levels. Precious human life should come first ahead of profits period but it doesn't. When the CEO of a company sits high on the hill in his billion dollar mansion looking out over the ocean, the last thing he'll think about will be  the little old lady with her sweater on who chose not to pay her heating bill so she could pay for her prescriptions. Those little old ladies have been my family members so I will continue to speak out about this and pray that love and compassion for human life will some day triumph over the all-mighty dollar.....M

Profit

When drugs pass their trademark protection and are in the public domain, but still costs thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars per course (think capecitabine), it is hard to imagine there is not an anti-trust violation by the industry.  Government would be fully within its rights to step in and produce these drugs and there would be no loss of the incentive for the industry to research and market extraordinarily expensive protected drugs--but it would give consumers a break.  Unfortunately, in the US we live in a era where business is seen as always right. . .  to the detriment of the consumers.

myAZmountain

5FU

I find it hard to believe that a drug that was patented in 1957, like 5Fu, is not inexpensive to produce over 60 years later.. Any costs of Research and development should have been recouped long long ago. The sceptic in me thinks drug companies "reinvent" drugs via delivery methods--like an oral pill that metabolizes to 5 Fu (Capecitabine) which enables them to repatent and get big bucks. 

mojogirl67

myAZmountain said:

5FU

I find it hard to believe that a drug that was patented in 1957, like 5Fu, is not inexpensive to produce over 60 years later.. Any costs of Research and development should have been recouped long long ago. The sceptic in me thinks drug companies "reinvent" drugs via delivery methods--like an oral pill that metabolizes to 5 Fu (Capecitabine) which enables them to repatent and get big bucks. 

Your Skeptic May Be Right

I wondered the same thing when reading up on 5FU. Sixty years and progress should have made a difference. I love the word they like to use when discussing these companies..transparency. Really? ..lol...I think not. Love your mountain pic. I'm not up for a long hike just yet but I'm working hard to get there..wishing you the best!! HUgs, M

Msboop15

myAZmountain said:

5FU

I find it hard to believe that a drug that was patented in 1957, like 5Fu, is not inexpensive to produce over 60 years later.. Any costs of Research and development should have been recouped long long ago. The sceptic in me thinks drug companies "reinvent" drugs via delivery methods--like an oral pill that metabolizes to 5 Fu (Capecitabine) which enables them to repatent and get big bucks. 

You are correct.

The recent AARP bulletin did a several page article about drug costs. The companies do something called “evergreening” the patents  by repurposing or reformulating medications. They can do that by something as simple as changing a dosage schedule and can then add another 20 years to the patent, keeping the generics from entering the market. Despicable!   In 2018 Robin Feldman found that of the roughly 100 best selling drugs more than 70% had extended their protection at least once.  These articles in the AARP bulletin are very informative and another unfortunate reminder that Big Pharma & the insurance companies are running health care in this country. Very sad! 

Kazenmax

$500 eye drops!

so here’s my story. The chemo caused dry eye syndrome. Corneas were extremely irritated to the point of not seeing well. Went to the ophthalmologist and was prescribed Restasis. I called the pharmacy and found out that a 1 month supply would cost $559. I was shocked.  I know you have all seen the ads for it.

well I researched it and found that it is effective for relief of dry eye in about 14% of patients. Hardly worth the money! Turns out that the company invested about 150 million in advertising and they want to get back that investment. They are one of the drug companies that have been successful in keeping generics out for over 10 years.

i went back to the opthamologist and he asked how the restasis was working. I told him what I found and that I never got the prescription filled. he said well I agree with your decision. I was surprised at that but then He said that he was leaving the practice. Made me almost ask him why he ever prescribed it But I didn’t think about that until later. 

So not to sound too conspiracy-like but the doctors are in on the fraud! 

K

Annabelle41415

mojogirl67 said:

Not Against Profit..Against Robbery

Your sense of gratitude shines thru in every response you post and I admire that. I practice gratitude in all aspects of my life. However, when I have family members, neighbors, and friends who have to make heart wrenching choices of paying their bills, buying groceries,  filling outrageous prescription costs, paying outrageous co-pays/ medical bills, I can not turn a blind eye or bury my head in the sand. It is just simply wrong and when you are fighting for your life, you are at the mercy of many crooked and "for profit only" entities. Just like any walk of life, you have the good peppered in with the bad.  The medical arena in reference to drugs, insurance and related care is out of control and there has to be more regulation but money and greed contol it from the highest levels. Precious human life should come first ahead of profits period but it doesn't. When the CEO of a company sits high on the hill in his billion dollar mansion looking out over the ocean, the last thing he'll think about will be  the little old lady with her sweater on who chose not to pay her heating bill so she could pay for her prescriptions. Those little old ladies have been my family members so I will continue to speak out about this and pray that love and compassion for human life will some day triumph over the all-mighty dollar.....M

Profit

Everyone's price for "profit" is different.  What mine is, isn't what your's is, nor my neighbors.  I'm not going to judge a company on their profit because what they bring in is what makes them a company.  Just like taxes, everyone's expectations are different.  I've never begrudged a company nor person from earning all they can but agree with Phil if a company buys out a drug company and their related drugs and then increases those drugs like Martin Shkreli who took an AIDs drug that was $13.50 and then charged $750 that's what I'm against.  A profit for a company should not be determined by any government. 

Kim

 

PhillieG

Annabelle41415 said:

Profit

Everyone's price for "profit" is different.  What mine is, isn't what your's is, nor my neighbors.  I'm not going to judge a company on their profit because what they bring in is what makes them a company.  Just like taxes, everyone's expectations are different.  I've never begrudged a company nor person from earning all they can but agree with Phil if a company buys out a drug company and their related drugs and then increases those drugs like Martin Shkreli who took an AIDs drug that was $13.50 and then charged $750 that's what I'm against.  A profit for a company should not be determined by any government. 

Kim

 

From May 2019

Drugmakers allegedly inflated prices over 1,000% and 44 states are now suing

It’s another complicated issue but the raising of prices like this is just wrong. Full article Drug makers raising prices 

 

zx10guy

Kazenmax said:

$500 eye drops!

so here’s my story. The chemo caused dry eye syndrome. Corneas were extremely irritated to the point of not seeing well. Went to the ophthalmologist and was prescribed Restasis. I called the pharmacy and found out that a 1 month supply would cost $559. I was shocked.  I know you have all seen the ads for it.

well I researched it and found that it is effective for relief of dry eye in about 14% of patients. Hardly worth the money! Turns out that the company invested about 150 million in advertising and they want to get back that investment. They are one of the drug companies that have been successful in keeping generics out for over 10 years.

i went back to the opthamologist and he asked how the restasis was working. I told him what I found and that I never got the prescription filled. he said well I agree with your decision. I was surprised at that but then He said that he was leaving the practice. Made me almost ask him why he ever prescribed it But I didn’t think about that until later. 

So not to sound too conspiracy-like but the doctors are in on the fraud! 

K

Yes.  Some doctors are

Yes.  Some doctors are influenced by drug companies to presecribe their drugs.  Ever wonder who that person is dressed nicely walking into a doctor's office?  Chances are it's a pharma rep.  Having said that, not all doctors are in on this.  My GI doctor definitely is not.  He prescribed a drug to treat my H. Pylori condition.  Found out my insurance denied coverage for some reason.  I told my doctor it was ok and I would pay out of pocket.  He was so upset about this he rounded up all of the samples of the drug he prescribed in his office and gave them to me for free.  Enough to do the full course of treatment.

NewHere

Patents Vs Trademarks

Just a quick FYI for people.

Drugs are protectecd by patent, patent protection is limited in time..  Trademarks are a different type of intellctual property protection, and trademarks can last forever as of now.  Drugs can also be trademarked, but not that part that makes them what they are (the drug).  For example, Xeloda is a trademark for capecitabine.  Coumadin &  Jantoven for warfarin.  Etc.  Everyone is familiar with the concept when they get their presctiptions filled with "generics" where available.  Fun trivia - aspirin was trademark but due to certain things, it lost trademark protection.  Some other common things like these used to be trademarked.  

But the bottom is I agree that the costs for these things are outrageous, especially when patents expire.  There is an argument with respect to recoupment of investement in developing the drugs, etc. (still think costs are high, escpecially when you can get ex-U.S. at a lesser price), but when past the patent period and someone else jumps in, at that point it is manufacturing costs, including setting up the facilites to produce the items.  The costs would be seem to be less. I am a capiltalist.  But the accounting game with drug companies, and insurance companies, to justify some of the pricing is nuts.  I am not sure the government producing the drugs would be an improvement due to the issues goverment has with many things - just look at the VA or the reports of fraud/inefficiencies in Medicare/Medicaid - but they could try to stop the price gouging and/or perhaps take other actions to promote lower pricing.  Changing some accounting rules, extending patent protection in the event that a company if staying within reasonable margins (they do this with natural monopolies) etc.  And PLEASE ban drug commercials on television.