Pharmaceutical companies spend more on marketing than research. According to
Science Daily, a "new study by two York University researchers estimates the U.S.
pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much on promotion as it does on
research and development." Despite pharmaceutical companies' claims that Americans
pay such high prices for prescription medications because they're really paying for
research and development costs, the industry spent $33.5 billion on promotion costs in
- The study also "supports the position that the U.S. pharmaceutical industry is
marketing-driven and challenges the perception of a research-driven, life-saving,
pharmaceutical industry" that values the lives of its patients, rather than their spending
habits.
What is sad is that Americans pay more for prescription meds than anyone else in the
world. The Media Matters website analyzes a 60 Minutes interview between
correspondent Bob Simon and then Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona. During the
segment, Carmona maintains that Americans pay more for brand name prescriptions
than anyone else in the world because of the hefty price associated with "the research
and development of drugs." Americans spent $200 billion on prescription drugs in 2002:
Marcia Angell reveals in her book “The Truth About the Drug Companies” that Americans
spent $200 billion on prescription drugs in 2002. That's the amount medical experts
estimated it will cost to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and the amount
China is pouring into an energy renewal program.
Some drug companies are taking advantage of underdeveloped countries to perform
clinical trials. Wired.com reports that India is becoming a more attractive place for drug
companies to run clinical trials and test out new drugs. The article explains, "more and
more drug companies are conducting clinical trials in developing countries where
government oversight is more lax and research can be done for a fraction of the cost."
Controversy is starting to build over the trend, however, as one expert explains. Sean
Philpott, managing editor of The American Journal of Bioethics, reveals to Wired.com
that such practices may be unfair, as "individuals who participate in Indian clinical trials
usually won't be educated. Offering $100 [as payment for their participation] may be
undue enticement; they may not even realize that they are being coerced."
Finally, good PR trumps patient care: When Merck & Co. found out that one of their
products, Vioxx, can increase the risk of heart attacks in its patients, it allegedly "played