ch4 •The drugs that are actually innovative that DO come to market stem from publicly supported research (sponsored by NIH, carried out by universities or small biotech companies). • big drug companies are competing for the limited number of drugs to license instead of finding new drugs. •overall, public research (from outside the drug industry) are responsible for the top selling, most effective drugs aka the source of innovative drugs. • big pharma refers to itself as a “research-based industry”. It is better described as an idea licensing, pharmaceutical formulating and manufacturing, clinical testing, patenting, and marketing industry.
ch5 •big pharma cooks a decadent meal, then afterwards it feeds others using leftovers from that one decadent meal. Maybe once in a while it feeds us something new made by someone else (innovative drugs are discovered once in a while, usu discovered outside the industry). And when they do discover something new, big p will just pump out similar versions of it aka “me too” drugs. •characteristics of “me too” drugs: -mainly made by competing companies, making their own versions of drugs that have already been proved lucrative and expandable. -They also target common, lifelong conditions that are not imminently lethal, bc there is a large market for them and people take these drugs for years. -do not typically replicate drugs that treat diseases common in the third world bc they cant afford to pay for drugs •big p expands the market to sell more drugs to people who might not need them (ie established “pre-hypertension”, changes definitions of conditions so that those at the lower end of qualifying results start taking medication.) conditions that could be improved with lifestyle changes are now pushed to be “improved” with drugs. •how big p tries to justify “me too” drugs: -“competition keeps the prices down” not true bc they arent being promoted on the basis of low price, but are marketed as the new more effective treatments for a condition. -“its good to have more than one drug to treat a condition bc if one doesnt work, another one will.” I wish this was expanded on and “debunked” more rather than just leaving us with the notion that if a drug doesnt work then a virtually identical one wont work either.
•The drugs that are actually innovative that DO come to market stem from publicly supported research (sponsored by NIH, carried out by universities or small biotech companies).
• big drug companies are competing for the limited number of drugs to license instead of finding new drugs.
•overall, public research (from outside the drug industry) are responsible for the top selling, most effective drugs aka the source of innovative drugs.
• big pharma refers to itself as a “research-based industry”. It is better described as an idea licensing, pharmaceutical formulating and manufacturing, clinical testing, patenting, and marketing industry.
ch5
•big pharma cooks a decadent meal, then afterwards it feeds others using leftovers from that one decadent meal. Maybe once in a while it feeds us something new made by someone else (innovative drugs are discovered once in a while, usu discovered outside the industry). And when they do discover something new, big p will just pump out similar versions of it aka “me too” drugs.
•characteristics of “me too” drugs:
-mainly made by competing companies, making their own versions of drugs that have already been proved lucrative and expandable.
-They also target common, lifelong conditions that are not imminently lethal, bc there is a large market for them and people take these drugs for years.
-do not typically replicate drugs that treat diseases common in the third world bc they cant afford to pay for drugs
•big p expands the market to sell more drugs to people who might not need them (ie established “pre-hypertension”, changes definitions of conditions so that those at the lower end of qualifying results start taking medication.) conditions that could be improved with lifestyle changes are now pushed to be “improved” with drugs.
•how big p tries to justify “me too” drugs:
-“competition keeps the prices down” not true bc they arent being promoted on the basis of low price, but are marketed as the new more effective treatments for a condition.
-“its good to have more than one drug to treat a condition bc if one doesnt work, another one will.” I wish this was expanded on and “debunked” more rather than just leaving us with the notion that if a drug doesnt work then a virtually identical one wont work either.