Seniors, Democrats ask: Must drugs be so costly?
This should surprise no one.
Seniors, Democrats ask: Must drugs be so costly? - The Boston Globe
The pharmaceutical industry says it plows profits back into research and development, but some question that argument. Drug manufacturers receive the bulk of a drug’s retail price , said Stephen Schondelmeyer , a University of Minnesota researcher who tracks drug pricing. Such branded drug makers as Pfizer Inc. spend, on average, 30 percent of that to cover manufacturing, shipping, and distributing products, he says, quoting federal government research. They devote roughly 13 percent to research and development that can lead to new therapies and expanded uses for existing drugs. Six percent pays for taxes and such expenses as defending against product liability lawsuits.But they spend 31 percent on such administrative expenses as sales and marketing.
Without drug ads, there would be no 6 o’clock news.
Manufacturing, shipping and distribution are unavoidable, of course. But claiming prices are high because of all the money they plow profits back into R&D when that amount turns out to be 13% is, I suppose, the American way. Meanwhile, people are sick and dying.
