The $800 Million Pill: The Truth behind the Cost of New Drugs

by Merrill Goozner

Why do life-saving prescription drugs cost so much? Drug companies insist that prices reflect the millions they invest in research and development. In this gripping exposé, Merrill Goozner contends that American taxpayers are in fact footing the bill once by supporting government-funded research and again by paying astronomically high prices for prescription drugs. Goozner demonstrates that almost all the important new drugs of the past quarter-century actually originated from research at taxpayer-funded universities and at the National Institutes of Health. He reports that once the innovative work is over, the pharmaceutical industry often steps in to reap the profit.

Goozner shows how drug innovation is driven by dedicated scientists intent on finding cures for diseases, not by pharmaceutical firms whose bottom line often takes precedence over the advance of medicine. A university biochemist who spent twenty years searching for a single blood protein that later became the best-selling biotech drug in the world, a government employee who discovered the causes for dozens of crippling genetic disorders, and the Department of Energy-funded research that made the Human Genome Project possible--these engrossing accounts illustrate how medical breakthroughs actually take place.

The $800 Million Pill suggests ways that the government's role in testing new medicines could be expanded to eliminate the private sector waste driving up the cost of existing drugs. Pharmaceutical firms should be compelled to refocus their human and financial resources on true medical innovation, Goozner insists. This book is essential reading for everyone concerned about the politically charged topics of drug pricing, Medicare coverage, national health care, and the role of pharmaceutical companies in developing countries.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Medical

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2004

Reviews

[starduest · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give zero stars I would as I've never read a book that failed so spectacularly to deliver what it promised in the blurb. It doesn't expand on the accusations against the pharma industry nor does it clearly outline how big pharma puts less money into developing drugs than government funding does. The entire book is just a disorganised vomit of the history of the development of various drugs that goes like: X did this then Y did that and Z did something else which led A and B to do - and it goes on. It might be interesting to those interested in the science behind drug development, clinical trials etc but I have emerged none the wiser on the basis of the accusations against the pharma industry and what exactly makes up the cost of drugs beyond what I already know from general news sources. Abysmal.

[Del Chia · Rating 5 out of 5]

America's Healthcare System is a Mess and...

Mr. Goober provides understanding as to one of the primary reasons why: drugs. So much of the economy's most important resources including dollars and scientific research are being wasted. As a country, we must prioritize and carefully pick our battles. Real discoveries in medicine is one of them. But all the money thrown at defending market share, me-to-products, advertising for something new that isn't makes those giant steps for mankind nearly impossible to take. The federal government needs to take a more active part in designing a healthcare system that works for all its citizens, not just the corporations and hedge funds.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but nothing overly fantastic.

[C-Dawg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this book show how the american tax payer is being swindled out of thousands of dollars each year. This can be seen when he discusses how not only do people have to pay for the already high price of prescription medications, but also are having to pay for the government to research new medications. Goozner then shows how most of the actual research is being done through governmental institutes such as the hundreds of universities across the country and the National Institute of Health while the large pharmaceutical companies step in to commercialize these newly discovered medications for people across the world. The issue with this is how these companies will charge a ridiculous amount for the new products that they didn't have any money in, and do so by telling the consumer that they have to pay for the years of research, testing, and await FDA approval. Goozner later presents new ideas of how to eliminate the outrageous profits that these companies are stealing from the american public. This would be done through ways that could be something as simple as a price ceiling on new medications as too limit how much companies can sell their products for. Later he discusses how one extreme way that could control this issue is through the United States government taking control of this industry through a process that would be similar to the earlier methods used at the beginning of the 1900's to eliminate monopolies. Other topics were also included such as how the government should nationalize health care to ensure that every citizen has access to life saving medications. Though Goozners main point throughout this nonfiction book was that all of the pharmaceutical companies have an obligation to create and sell medications to better society rather than being profit based.

[David Usharauli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading book "The $800 Million Pill: The Truth behind the Cost of New Drugs" by Merrill Goozner (2005) was kind of revelation for me. Even if it is written more than 10 years ago, it feels if it was published yesterday.

These days we are constantly reminded by pharma and biotech industry that it costs a lot of money to develop a drug. Some even suggests that it cost around 800 million or even more to develop a single drug. In fact, we "intuitively" accept that this statement must be true, notwithstanding of waste associated with any such program. Of course, it must cost that much money to Pharma to run FDA required sequential clinical trials (phase I, II, III, IV) involving in sum 1000s of patients.

However, careful analysis of Pharma R&D expenditure reveals something entirely....

posted by David Usharauli

http://davidusharaulibookidealist.blo...

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I highly recommend seeking this book out and reading it. It gets kind of bogged down in the middle but the overall point and the researched perspective it provides is valuable - especially as we have policy debates on patent law and health care costs.