5 ms·

The drug from the original company is expensive everywhere, what India has is generics, which in their turn might lower the price of the original drug because o

The drug from the original company is expensive everywhere, what India has is generics, which in their turn might lower the price of the original drug because of the competition. It also lowers the incentive of selling the original drug there at all (and consequently allowing the government to press for agreements). I have some unpopular opinions regarding the subject...

chris_wot 10y ago
Actually, India basically refuses to recognise patents for a wide variety of pharmaceutical products. For a long time they refused to recognise patents for drugs that combat AIDS and a thriving market for generics sprung up. There was a lot of posturing and complaining by pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and the U.S. Government tried to heavy the Indian Government, but to no avail. When it became apparent that the Indians weren't going to budge, and with a growing realisation that other nations would ether do the same thing or import their drugs from India, the companies agreed to drastically reduce their prices on "humanitarian" grounds. Now they still make massive profits, just they are less massive than they once were. This is now happening with academic research. Nobody will shed any tears because greedy multinationals make a lower profit to ensure less people die from disease. Nobody will weep over Elsevier's reduced earning if it frees up necessary information and research findings so science can progress for the benefit of all mankind. The entrenched interests of rich, arrogant corporate executives and business owners in first world nations are finally being disrupted by poorer nations who don't care about this group of people. But that's what happens when you gain an attitude on I weaning entitlement - you eventually overreach so far you come undone, and nobody feels any sympathy when it happens.
- halviti 10y ago
  While I tend to lean more to your side of the argument, the devil's advocate in me has to point out the fact that you leave out the massive costs of research, development, clinical trials / fda approval, etc. that go in to getting a drug to market. This not to mention all the extra capital needed to fund research into all of the drugs that never make it to market before a company finds something that works.
  - chris_wot 10y ago
    Given that people would still die or become very sick from disease, I think that medicine would progress - whether at the same rate, I'm not sure but given Western nations other than the U.S. pretty much all don't have hangups about their government funded health systems, I suspect it wouldn't be all that bad.
  - irremediable 10y ago
    I'm fairly sure most drug companies now spend more on marketing than on R&D/testing.
    - Ralfp 10y ago
      Most drug companies sell generics because they don't want to enter costful R&D game.
      - Kristine1975 10y ago
        Or they try to prolong their patents or very slightly change the formula of an existing drug so they can patent it again: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_drug#Prolongation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_drug#Prolongation
    - coredog64 10y ago
      If you're going to parrot Marcia Angell, at least get the substance right: They spend more on marketing and administration than they do on R&D. Where "administration" is stuff like IT, HR, etc.
      - irremediable 10y ago
        I've never read her work, so I'm hardly parroting her. IIRC I've read about this in a few news articles about pharma finances, and in Ben Goldacre's "Bad Pharma". I don't know whether the marketing/sales figures include administration, but it does appear to be true, and I'd be inclined to think it's bad...
  - 10y ago
- iofj 10y ago
  This is one of the "problems" the TTIP attempts to "fix", isn't it ? That Indians get access to cheap medication. https://donttradeourlivesaway.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/how-ttip-could-harm-access-to-medicines/ https://donttradeourlivesaway.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/how-t...
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- shiven 10y ago
  The future lies in "biologics", which unlike small-molecule compounds, cannot be (that) easily copied/manufactured. Initial and continuous capital costs prevent easy "piracy" and that is where the majority of large-pharam/biotech R&D is headed.

chris_wot 10y ago

Actually, India basically refuses to recognise patents for a wide variety of pharmaceutical products. For a long time they refused to recognise patents for drugs that combat AIDS and a thriving market for generics sprung up. There was a lot of posturing and complaining by pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and the U.S. Government tried to heavy the Indian Government, but to no avail. When it became apparent that the Indians weren't going to budge, and with a growing realisation that other nations would ether do the same thing or import their drugs from India, the companies agreed to drastically reduce their prices on "humanitarian" grounds. Now they still make massive profits, just they are less massive than they once were. This is now happening with academic research. Nobody will shed any tears because greedy multinationals make a lower profit to ensure less people die from disease. Nobody will weep over Elsevier's reduced earning if it frees up necessary information and research findings so science can progress for the benefit of all mankind. The entrenched interests of rich, arrogant corporate executives and business owners in first world nations are finally being disrupted by poorer nations who don't care about this group of people. But that's what happens when you gain an attitude on I weaning entitlement - you eventually overreach so far you come undone, and nobody feels any sympathy when it happens.

halviti 10y ago
While I tend to lean more to your side of the argument, the devil's advocate in me has to point out the fact that you leave out the massive costs of research, development, clinical trials / fda approval, etc. that go in to getting a drug to market. This not to mention all the extra capital needed to fund research into all of the drugs that never make it to market before a company finds something that works.
- chris_wot 10y ago
  Given that people would still die or become very sick from disease, I think that medicine would progress - whether at the same rate, I'm not sure but given Western nations other than the U.S. pretty much all don't have hangups about their government funded health systems, I suspect it wouldn't be all that bad.
- irremediable 10y ago
  I'm fairly sure most drug companies now spend more on marketing than on R&D/testing.
  - Ralfp 10y ago
    Most drug companies sell generics because they don't want to enter costful R&D game.
    - Kristine1975 10y ago
      Or they try to prolong their patents or very slightly change the formula of an existing drug so they can patent it again: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_drug#Prolongation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_drug#Prolongation
  - coredog64 10y ago
    If you're going to parrot Marcia Angell, at least get the substance right: They spend more on marketing and administration than they do on R&D. Where "administration" is stuff like IT, HR, etc.
    - irremediable 10y ago
      I've never read her work, so I'm hardly parroting her. IIRC I've read about this in a few news articles about pharma finances, and in Ben Goldacre's "Bad Pharma". I don't know whether the marketing/sales figures include administration, but it does appear to be true, and I'd be inclined to think it's bad...
- 10y ago
iofj 10y ago
This is one of the "problems" the TTIP attempts to "fix", isn't it ? That Indians get access to cheap medication. https://donttradeourlivesaway.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/how-ttip-could-harm-access-to-medicines/ https://donttradeourlivesaway.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/how-t...
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
shiven 10y ago
The future lies in "biologics", which unlike small-molecule compounds, cannot be (that) easily copied/manufactured. Initial and continuous capital costs prevent easy "piracy" and that is where the majority of large-pharam/biotech R&D is headed.