The High Cost Of Drugs

The rise in drug prices is causing the public to ask why this is so and why there isn’t anything being done, or what the reason could be for sky high prices. Some of the reasons include pharmaceutical companies setting their drug prices

In 2015, the pharmaceutical industry spent over 27 billion dollars on advertising. The two greatest components of this effort were promotional advertising and free medication sampling, which the pharmaceuticals invested 15.5 and 5.7 billion dollars respectively (“Persuading the Prescribers”). Promotional advertising involves direct contact with health professionals, the most common being extravagant lunch conferences held for physicians and their staff. On the other hand, sampling involves distributing free sample of medications to physicians, who then have a choice of providing these samples to patients. As a result of these methods, the industry has seen revenue around $400 billion with 90% of physicians having a relationship with a drug company (Campbell 2007). Moreover, the prices of prescriptions continue to rise; a copay of a generic drug is $11.72, preferred brand drug is $36.37 and a specialty drug is $58.37 (Coleman and Geneson 2014). Although the profits are immense in the numbers demonstrated above, it is no surprise when pharmaceutical drug companies elevate their prices even more. For instance, recently Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price of their medication Daraprim from $13.50 to $750. Keep in mind, this medication is used for threatening parasitic infections, aids, and cancer with alternative options currently found to be inefficient (Pollack 2015). Another example of this practice involves cycloserine, a drug used to

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.

Background: Americans pay the highest prices for prescription drugs in the world. Drug costs increased 12.6 percent last year, more than double the rise in overall medical costs. A new Kaiser Health poll shows that most Americans think prescription drug costs in this country are unreasonable, and that drug companies put profits before people.1 Take the example of albendazole which is broad spectrum anti-parasitic drug. In late 2010, the listed average wholesale price for albendazole was $5.92 per typical daily dose in the United States and less than $1 per typical daily dose overseas. By 2013, the listed typical daily dose price for USA market had increased to $119.58. Medicaid data show that spending on albendazole increased from less than $100,000 per year in 2008, when the average cost was $36.10 per prescription, to more than $7.5 million in 2013, when the average cost was $241.30 per prescription2. Albendazole is a very basic medicine but if we take the case of oncology medicines we are going to realize that oncology drugs have become synonymous with extremely high cost. The average cancer drug price for approximately 1 year of therapy was less than 10,000 per year in 2010 and had increased to $30,000 to $50,000 by 2005. In 2012, 12 of the 13 new drugs approved for cancer indications were priced above $100,000 per year of therapy. With typical out-of-pocket expenses of 20% to 30%, the financial burden would be $20,000 to 30,000 a year, nearly half of the average annual

Tens of thousands of Americans are now spending more than $100,000 a year on prescription drugs. So they’re paying somewhere around $1,000 per pill. All across this country people are dying from illnesses that can be treated, only because their medicine is too expensive for them to afford. The cost of prescription drugs should and can be lowered. Just think about all the families that are in debt or have lost a loved one because of overpriced prescription drugs. These major health companies have no concern for the well being of others, they don’t care if people are dying because they can’t afford it. All they care about is making a profit and as long as they get it, they’re satisfied.

The rise in costs of prescription medicines affects all sectors of the health care industry, including private insurers, public programs, and patients. Spending on prescription drugs continues to be an important health care concern, particularly in light of rising pharmaceutical costs, the aging population, and increased use of costly specialty drugs. In recent history, increases in prescription drug costs have outpaced other categories of health care spending, rising rapidly throughout the latter half of the 1990s and early 2000s. (Kaiseredu.org, 2012).

In the business of drug production over the years, there have been astronomical gains in the technology of pharmaceutical drugs. More and more drugs are being made for diseases and viruses each day, and there are many more drugs still undergoing research and testing. These "miracle" drugs are expensive, however, and many Americans cannot afford these prices.

Drug cost is very high even if the patient chooses to a generic version of the medication. Although there are similar drugs available to treat the same ailment one would think it would keep the cost low to minimize the competition that has no bearing on pricing medicine. According to Kesselheim, Avorn, & Sarpatwari, (2016), between 2013 and 2015, the cost of prescription drugs in the United States increased approximately 20% exceeding the forecasted amount of 11%. The cost of prescription drugs is undeniably one of the key components that adds to the cost of healthcare. Biologic drugs such as Humira can cost the insurance companies thousands of dollars and still leave the patient to contribute a high portion of the cost. Individuals who

Prescription drugs all around are very expensive, but without out them some of us would not be able to say we are alive. We can still see the price of these prescription drugs go through the roof as we speak. Although most of low-income workers can barely afford medicine and drugs, one way or another, we make it work because without it we would be dead. Although having insurance covers a lot of our medical health expenses, such as medical bills, prescription bills, hospital bills and things of this nature. As the cost of prescriptions keep going up, sometimes our insurance companies cannot cover the cost because they have hit their Cap of money able to spend. Some insurance companies have Cap for a person or a cap for a whole family it can be yearly or annually it just depends on the “deal” you worked out with your insurance provider. Most families, like my own make due to cover the cost of having insurance, yet we have to still be able to cover what remains of the prescription cost if we want to live. Money sometimes is very tight and meeting these necessary financial situations get tough.

A lot of people, particularly the patients who need them, are beginning to wonder why American drug prices are so high. It makes sense why the pharmaceutical companies are selling at the prices they do: they are a business; and they want to, above all else, make a profit. But the real question is: what are all of the

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the pharmaceutical industry plays a major growing role in the United States economy, with both the consumption and the production of its products. Total value of U.S. consumption of pharmaceutical drugs in 2009 was $300 billion, or about 40 percent of the worldwide market share, and reflected a 37-percent increase since 2003. (Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor, 2011). Also, the projected growth rate is 6% per annual.

After all research has been conducted including the testing of all animal and human studies associated, the New Drug application is completed by the drug developer. The results provided are used by the FDA to determine whether the drug is approved or the recommendation of further testing. Finally phase four is based on the monitoring of the drug’s risks and benefits monitored by various sponsors hired by the FDA.

Here's a look at what I believe more people need to know about the Mexican Drug War and Cartel. The Mexican drug cartels have been like a disease spreading like a wild fire all over Mexico over the years. The Mexican government has been fighting a war with drug traffickers for a long time. Also, drug cartels have been fighting with each other for control of territories in Mexico. Over 60,000 people have been killed from 2006 to 2012, according to Human Rights Watch. Many people have been robbed, tortured, kidnapped, injured, and murdered through out the domestic drug war that is going on in Mexico. Officials have dispatched thousands of troops and experienced police officers to contain the “self-defense” groups in the towns of Mexico. These people claim that they are simply filling a void left by incompetent or corrupt officials in their government. Many of the people taking on these gangs that control their parts of the region say they do not care much about the illegal drug trades going on around them. These cartels have been supplying the United States and Mexican people for decades. All these town people want is for the criminals to leave the regular residents of their towns in peace.

Phase III is the first large-scale trial of human testing. This phase can only begin if the new drug shows to be effective in the phase II. Phase III seeks to further determine the effectiveness of the drug. This is done by testing the drug on different populations, meaning that testing will be done on more people, testing will be done on different drug doses, and the drug will be tested on patients who are also taking other drugs. If Phases I through III show the investigational new drug to be safe and effective, then the pharmaceutical company will file a New Drug Application (NDA). The NDA includes both the results of the first three trial phases and data on how the drug is manufactured (Frank & Hargreaves, 2003; Lipsky & Sharp, 2001;

The United States is the most important cog in the pharmaceutical machine, and is a major contributor in driving technological improvements and innovation in the industry. Of course, the industry is truly global, with many other nations playing important roles at all phases of the production and purchasing chain. Global pharmaceutical drug sales have nearly tripled since 2001, increasing from just under 400 billion in sales to over 1 trillion in 2015 (Statista, 2015). In considering how to engage in pharmaceutical trade on a global scale, there are several factors the participants, particularly manufacturers, need to be aware of and understand to properly price a given drug.