Pharmaceutical companies are continuing to defy political pressure from both Democrats and Republicans by raising the prices of almost 3,000 drugs in the U.S. in the first three months of this year.
Generic versions of the antidepressant Prozac and the painkiller Vicodin were among the medicines with triple-digit percentage increases.
Drug costs continue to increase at four times the rate of inflation, causing concern for employers, health insurers and consumers, said RX Savings Solutions CEO Michael Rea.
I am torn on this kind of stuff, because our communal well-being is very much dependent on the folks in the R&D side of Big Pharma, but the marketing side seems to be absolutely bound and determined to be the worst possible human beings they can be. I have nothing but admiration for the researchers who are working and have worked to help us fix some of the plagues of existence. I have nothing but contempt for the assholes who decide that a life-saving medication (insulin, epipen, etc.) should be jacked up 1000% or more in price because what are they gonna do, not pay for it? I do think that making money on a product that requires the kind of investment that it takes to bring a new drug to market is reasonable. But the current crop of Pharma-bros are going down a guillotine laced pathway.
As we get fired up about pharma assholery, let us not forget there are even bigger scams ongoing in the medical field. Unlike most sites, the comment thread on this ine is actually worth reading. And, there are times I really dislike my chosen profession.
That’s the standard argument, but it overlooks the fact most pharmaceutical research is paid for by your tax dollars. A big bump in drug prices will not pay for a big bump in research. It will go out as dividends to investors.
Which is why I separate R&D from the corporate marketing asswipes. But pharma does fund a lot of the clinical research, once you get to phase 2 and up. The basic science is much more a question of federal funding.
