AdobePinon

After carefully reviewing the Terms and Conditions, it has become apparent that we need to discuss this issue that no expat seems to care about. Medical care in this country is just getting way too expensive. Take the new cancer drug Avastin for example. Genentech plans to charge $100,000 a year for it.

"...executives at Genentech and its majority owner, Roche, are now using a separate argument — citing the inherent value of life-sustaining therapies. If society wants the benefits, they say, it must be ready to spend more for treatments like Avastin and another of the company's cancer drugs, Herceptin, which sells for $40,000 a year."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/15/bu...Hy+eFzqc7vCu5A

Alternative (in case the NYT article goes subscription-only): http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...602150459/1012

Class.

BigDavyG

Its a tricky subject.
Obviously the pharamecutical companies need to make enough to cover the R&D of the product, and of the countless other products which fail to make it into people's medicine cabinets. The scientists and chemists working on these products also deserve to be extremely well compensated as their work is of great benefit to society as a whole. However when it gets to the stage where they begin to make multimillion dollar profits for their shareholders out of essentially other peoples illnesses and disease it starts to get a bit dubious in my opinion.

Anyway, never mind soon a generic version will be available for 1/50th of the price

Elvira

Not of Avastin though! Never mind that its patent has quite a while to run, but given the type of drug it is, it would be extremely difficult for a generic company to replicate it.

Duncan Roberts

I think the R&D argument is kind of a cop out. I think the biggest reasons are so the execs can line their pockets and to pay for all the spiffs they give doctors for prescribing their drugs.

Rompers

Roche spent $4.3 billion dollars on R&D in 2005 alone. If I was going to reduce the cost of healthcare in the US I'd be going after the lawyers.

BigDavyG

I can never understand the point of using drug reps and "bribing" doctors.
Surely the dr should always be working in the patients best interest and therefore chose the best available option, not the option that gets him the most free pens/holidays, etc

Oh, sorry - i forgot 50% of doctors are lawyers in disguise

Celsius

These astonishing costs for a single drug suggests consumers are "damned if you do, damned if you don't".

It's a no-win situation for the consumer in this capitalist society.

Of course, it'd be a whole lot cheaper if people spent time and money on taking preventative steps to reduce their risks for colon cancer...

Always21

Yeah, that's where a lot of money goes (although I wouldn't have a clue what it is as a percentage of their R&D). My wife used to work at a doctor's office and we have no end of free pens, Post-Its, magnets, executive toys, etc with drug names on them. The whole office (10 or more doctors plus staff) was more or less guaranteed a free lunch every day from various drug reps too.

AmerLisa

I thought this was listed in Patrick's list of things not to mention today?

Rompers

They need someone to provide cheap healthcare - how about Tesco? I read somewhere they are coming to the US. Lots of people need healthcare here - anyone who goes hunting with Dick Cheney, publishes cartoons from Denmark that upsets Muslims, and probably Neil Entwhistle now he's inside. Or they could net up a NHS but then everyone would have to file more taxes.

I say we lighten this up a bit by talking about the Eurovision song contest or the Magic Roundabout.

edited to add that I read this really funny thing about revoking US independance, would anyone like me to post it?

Big D

Ah bollox - there goes the planet! well the challenge at least!

Rompers

Dohhhh

AdobePinon

No it wasn't - that's why it needed to be opened for discussion.

nottsinCT

Medical is not the only thing we are being ripped off with, take gas in a 15 mile radius of my home prices are 2.29 per gallon, 2.43 per gallon and 2.69 per gallon where is the justice and a barrell is under 60$.......

Eskimo

This practice has now stopped .. I work in the industry and the ADVAMED law now prohibits freebies in Pharma (even lunches over $50) and medical devices sales will be implemented in CA in March. The fines for breaching the law are terrifying and the FDA are actively policing it.