Cost of developing new drugs may be lower than industry claims: trial

Drug companies are unambiguously out of control. Some of these new molecules don't even need to be invented, they're just legally distinct repackaging of something they can't gouge on anymore. These companies could, if they had an incentive to do so, research effective off-label uses of existing drugs, say. But there's no money in that. There is a ton of money in making legally distinct "new" drugs that do the same thing as newly-generic drugs. It's unacceptable what they get away with.

Covid ought to have been the final straw that brought all sides together to do something about drug companies.

that we so rapidly transitioned to --and away from-- a rapid, effective and universal free COVID vaccine for the majority of americans in such a relatively short period of time without any sincere discussion or commentary from news media or public policy officials really spoke volumes to me about the kind of national policy the United States is either pursuing with conscientious determination, or blithe indifference.

we could have done covid style vaccines for a litany of other incredibly dangerous yet common causes of death in the US like flu shots and HPV, but we dont. we charge real moneys for these things as though the cost of the development of the drug itself isnt borne almost exclusively by the taxpayer.

The government was paying just Pfizer like 50bn a year for Covid vaccines, I’m sure if you add up all the manufacturers they were easily paying 100bn a year from 2021-2023. I don’t have all the math but I am guessing it ended up costing at least $500/yr to vaccinate a person.

That is a long ways from free, there is just the bit of abstraction that allows corporations to rob us blind. If we had to go get $500 out of an ATM and hand it to the pharmacy everyone would have been throwing a fit. Bundle it in with the taxes that get silently pulled from your paycheck before you even get it though? No biggie.

I have no idea why you're being downvoted. Is it because we do give out flu shots & such?

What’s stopping people from using the old packaging when the patent expires?

Any cite for this?

https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/how-muc... says as of a year ago the total across all manufacturers for multiple years was $30B, at a per-dose cost of $20.69. Given how dismal booster uptake has been and the cessation of free vaccination in the fall, I severely doubt the last year has seen the extra $70B you assert.

They stop making it, and pay generic manufacturers not to.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/drug-firms-st...

> Known as "reverse settlement payments," or "pay-to-delay" deals, the financial arrangements are a unique but common practice in the pharmaceutical industry. Essentially, they allow drug manufacturers in some instances to pay competitors not to manufacture generic versions of their products, thereby ensuring that they maintain patent protection for as long as possible.

There's a convoluted process that they can game to extend their exclusivity with the FDA see e.g., https://time.com/6336840/patent-manipulation-insulin-prices/

How is this not a blatent antitrust violation?

The story of that particular legal saga is well laid out at https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/pharmaceut....

FTC is trying, but it's one of many places in society where money speaks loudly. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/competition-enforceme...

It wasn't because it has always and will always be about the leverage and execution of power asymmetries.

There's no magic hand or market forces working in the public favor, it's competing factions exercising power.

We will continue taking a bath on everything until we organize and exercise power. It's not about "voting" with your wallet because that doesn't set the rules. The terms of engagement need to change.

Things don't have to be this way, there is no "natural law" and things won't change due to prudence. That's all just classic hustling tactics - other countries don't operate this way.

Rapid, effective, and free? I give you rapid, whatever the f that means for a vaccine.

Effective? My whole family was vaxxed, yet everyone got COVID. We have friends who are on their 5+ jab, and they still get it. Of course, after this became painfully clear to everyone, big pharma quickly started to erase history and move the goalpost, and they still disappoint somehow.

Free? Maybe free as in you don't need to take your cash and pay for it, but I can assure you, it cost a ton of tax payer money, benefits are unclear, it's based on government funded research, and somehow big pharma made enormous profits which will make sure they will never be held to account.

I'm also surprised that we finally transitioned away from this farce, because for 2-3 years, it felt like they will do everything to force it onto you and vilify anyone who asks questions.

"People" are the same drug companies that would rather use their manufacturing capabilities for high-margin on-patent drugs.

For a particularly sad example, certain kinds of testicular cancer are considered curable with off-patent drugs like cisplatin and etoposide. But those drugs are often unavailable simply because nobody wants to manufacture such low-margin drugs. See, for example,https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/oncology-drug-shortage-c....

> Covid ought to have been the final straw that brought all sides together to do something about drug companies.

If anything, Covid demonstrated the value of drug companies. What was the economic cost of Covid, just from the shutdowns, not including the deaths and disability? I am sure it ran into the trillions.

So the drug companies made $100 billion dollars while producing an economic surplus of trillions? Sounds like a great deal to me.

I want developing new drugs to be insanely profitable. I want the smartest people to go into finding new cures for diseases instead of into thinking about how to drive "engagement" to maximize ad revenue, or playing financial games on Wall Street.

What were the revenues of Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft during Covid?

I can only speak for myself. The real cost was human. Someone in my family died of despair-related causes, due to restrictions and lockdowns. Nobody in my family died of Covid. I had a temporary vaccine injury that has psychologically scarred my children. The human cost was severe. We should categorically never defend the mass-empowerment of the fearful.