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

Semaglutide retails for $17k USD/year in the US but costs only $60 to make. Perhaps it could be argued that the autoinjectors are "expensive", but not $17k/year and oral forms are coming online to make this item moot. In limited circumstances, excessive profits cross into the realm of price gouging and shouldn't be allowed by regulatory enforcement.

The cost of manufacturing the drug is only relevant if the drug can be discovered and proved effective by the Magic Drug Fairy.

Here in the real world, that manufacturing cost is largely irrelevant.

I bet the manufacturing cost is the largely relevant factor once the patents expire.

Which from the perspective of generic manufacturers, the drugs are discovered and proved effective by the Magic Drug Fairy.