The Business Enterprise Trust Case

There are multiple health concerns worldwide and more and more drugs are needed every day. Many drugs however, are extremely expensive to develop, test, and produce. According to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (2002), it costs up to $802 million to bring a new drug to the market. In 2002, pharmaceutical companies spent $34 billion in research and development (Center-Watch, 2003). In addition to the costs, the overall time from the discovery to approve and market the drug can take up to 15 years.

Shaw, W.H. (2014). Business ethics: A Textbook with cases, (8th ed.). Boston, MA : Cengage.

Improvements in health care and life sciences are an important source of gains in health and longevity globally. The development of innovative pharmaceutical products plays a critical role in ensuring these continued gains. To encourage the continued development of new drugs, economic incentives are essential. These incentives are principally provided through direct and indirect government funding, intellectual property laws, and other policies that favor innovation. Without such incentives, private corporations, which bring to market the vast majority of new drugs, would be less able to assume the risks and costs necessary to continue their research and development (R&D). In the United States, government action has focused on creating the environment that would best encourage further innovation and yield a constant flow of new and innovative medicines to the market. The goal has been to ensure that consumers would benefit both from technological breakthroughs and the competition that further innovation generates. The United States also relies on a strong generic pharmaceutical industry to create added competitive pressure to lower drug prices. Recent action by the Administration and Congress has accelerated the flow of generic medicines to the market for precisely that reason. By contrast, in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and

U.S. based companies hold rights to most of the world’s rights on new medicines and holds thousands of new products currently being developed. As of 2012, the industry helps support almost 3.4 million jobs in the U.S. economy. It is also one of the most heavily R&D based industries in the world. In the United States, the environment for pharmaceuticals is much friendlier than other countries around the world in terms of pricing ability and regulations. Both the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industries have experienced significant growth in the past year with year-over-year increases of 13.02% and 34.69% respectively. It is an even more striking when looking at the past five years considering both have beat out the S&P 500 with pharmaceuticals increasing an additional 31.44% and the biotechnology sector besting an astonishing 269.3% more return than the

Prescription drug prices are on the rise in the United States. Currently, the United States does not implement a price control on prescription drugs. Every day the supply and demand for prescription drugs fluctuates. Pharmaceutical companies produce drugs that are necessary for survival. Therefore, it is necessary for research and development to continue in the United States. Those suffering the effects of exorbitant prices must do so until a generic form of a prescription drug is produced. Once approved by the FDA, new drugs will make their appearance on the market and patients will no longer suffer financially. Until then, it is necessary for pharmaceutical companies to price their drugs based on the idea of supply and demand. This produces the profit used to fund research. Price controls discourage innovation. If a price control were set in place, of course the price of prescription drugs would decrease. However, the development of new drugs decreases with it. Today’s generation would benefit from lower prices, while future generations would suffer from the loss of drug innovation.

Is it ethical for companies to decline to sell a useful drug in a foreign country because they can make more money marketing the drug elsewhere?

This will be an over view of ethics as it relates to business in our society. Concepts from Philosophy will seek to describe the correlation between actions that are classified as morally right or ethical in our dealings with each other as human beings. Clear and concise examples will be given as well as ways in which to improve upon business ethics.

Visual imparity is one of the biggest epidemics in the modern world affecting an estimated 285 million people worldwide (WHO, 2014). Of theses 285 million people, roughly 39 million of them are completely blind. Blindness is a ‘debilitating sensory impairment’ according to Lorach(2014), which can limit a person’s ability to perform everyday tasks and can hugely affect their quality of life. Most of the diseases causing visual impairments, such as cataract can be surgically treated. However, some pathologies cannot be treated with existing treatments or medications. Retinitis pigmenstosa (RP) is an example of such pathology. RP is an inherited eye disorder in which light-receiving photoreceptor cells (rods and cons) degenerate. The photoreceptor

Even though the pharmaceutical industry has made great improvements to human health and quality of life, like creating drugs for the treatment of AIDS, cancer, and other diseases, an increasing tension is growing between the public and the industry. These thoughts are fueled by issues such as drug pricing, affordable health care, and the battle against epidemic diseases in third world countries; social critics wonder whether this multi-billion dollar industry is giving enough back to the community and fulfilling its social responsibility.

Treatment options include contact lenses, lens implantation, eye magnifiers, and laser eyes surgery. This condition cannot be cured as it is genetic, but apart from more damage caused by UV exposure, it does not have a mortality rate.

According to a study of 14213 participants, estimated half of the US population 20 years and older has some type of clinically important refractive error and the annual direct cost of providing refractive correction to the 100 million people who need it to achieve good vision as exceeding $3.5 billion (not including the costs of identifying those who need refractive correction). Besides its high prevalence, refractive errors also cause essential problems to the patient’s daily activities, such as driving, reading, and writing.

Giving the blind sight has been a dream for scientists. Just think about it, the blind being able to see again or for the first time in their lives. But where is this miraculous solution? Is the solution in replacing dead photoreceptors?

Merck & Co., Inc. was faced with quite the dilemma as whether to develop a drug discovered by Dr. William C. Campbell’s theories on curing river blindness. River blindness is a common disease afflicting settlements located close to fast-moving rivers in third world countries. The largest concern with starting a new research on the drug called “Ivermectin” was that millions would be put into research, but little chance of the drug offering a financial return. The reasoning is that those in third world countries could not afford the drug and this is where Merck has to decide whether to invest in research and develop the drug. I understand the dilemma Merck is faced with, but as someone on the outside without full understanding of pharmaceutical companies, I question is it possible for them to provide a needed drug at affordable pricing for third world countries. They already have a similar drug established and more research is needed for human use, but they have to be able to find a benefactor whom is willing to contribute to this

Even though cost for medical care continues to escalate, Merck, the largest health care company in the world still works to improve people’s health and well-being. In November 2009, Merck, and Schering-Plough combined to create a new corporation. Both organizations together provide an even stronger commitment to providing good health and well-being. Through the years, Merck researchers have helped to find new ways to treat and prevent illness - from the discovery of vitamin B1, to the first measles vaccine, to cold remedies and antacids, to the first statins to treat high cholesterol (Merck, 2013).

Merck is a flourishing research-driven pharmaceutical company, which discovers, develops, manufacturers, and promotes an extensive variety of human and animal health products. Although Merck is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies of the world, they still come across problems today while striving to sustain a lead against its competition. Merck has achieved success with its lengthy history of breakthrough drugs and the development of three significant pharmaceutical products: antibiotics, vitamins, and hormones. Merck’s success relies heavily on its management and how they modify the business model in place to that of the ever-changing economy.