4 ms·

I do a GoodRx price check of every drug I see advertised on TV. There is typically no drug that costs less than $5k a month. Is there a problem here?

LeegleechN 5y ago
Most prescribed drugs are generics that will cost you a couple bucks. The drugs advertised on TV are precisely the ones with high margins that support expensive customer acquisition efforts.
- to11mtm 5y ago
  Yeah. New Drugs are 'new', have probably just gone through expensive R&D and Trial periods, so there is a need to recoup investment. Of course, there's the problem of when companies make a 'new' drug that is very similar to an existing drug/generic that already exists. A great example of that in my head is how Cymbalta is not that much different than Effexor.
  - willcipriano 5y ago
    The most egregious was when the CFC ban went into place and the non-CFC inhalers were all under patent again.
sonofhans 5y ago
Yes. The problem is allowing pharmaceutical products to be advertised directly to consumers. That’s only legal in 2 countries — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-to-consumer_advertising https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-to-consumer_advertising As a consequence, many large drug companies spend more money marketing drugs than developing them — https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2019/7/do-biopharma-companies-really-spend-more-on-market https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2019/7/...
- listenallyall 5y ago
  But if there wasn't an opportunity to market them directly to people, many drugs would never have been made at all.
  - sonofhans 5y ago
    Excellent. I would argue strongly that it’s an anti-pattern if literally the only way to sell a drug is to market it to people directly. This is the essence of consumer marketing — it only fulfills needs that it first creates, e.g., “Your breath is disgusting and people mock you behind your back, so use this mouthwash.”
    - listenallyall 5y ago
      That's kind of the default, "let's be cynical", viewpoint, don't you think? Some people do have awful breath. Lots of old men couldn't get an erection. Certainly you aren't claiming that diabetes, arthritis, or depression are not a real issues to be treated? Today I saw a commercial for a shingles vaccine. All I know about shingles is that David Letterman got it and it kept him off the air for a while and he said it was miserable. I'd certainly consider getting a vaccine.

LeegleechN 5y ago

Most prescribed drugs are generics that will cost you a couple bucks. The drugs advertised on TV are precisely the ones with high margins that support expensive customer acquisition efforts.

to11mtm 5y ago
Yeah. New Drugs are 'new', have probably just gone through expensive R&D and Trial periods, so there is a need to recoup investment. Of course, there's the problem of when companies make a 'new' drug that is very similar to an existing drug/generic that already exists. A great example of that in my head is how Cymbalta is not that much different than Effexor.
- willcipriano 5y ago
  The most egregious was when the CFC ban went into place and the non-CFC inhalers were all under patent again.

sonofhans 5y ago

Yes. The problem is allowing pharmaceutical products to be advertised directly to consumers. That’s only legal in 2 countries — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-to-consumer_advertising https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-to-consumer_advertising As a consequence, many large drug companies spend more money marketing drugs than developing them — https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2019/7/do-biopharma-companies-really-spend-more-on-market https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2019/7/...

listenallyall 5y ago
But if there wasn't an opportunity to market them directly to people, many drugs would never have been made at all.
- sonofhans 5y ago
  Excellent. I would argue strongly that it’s an anti-pattern if literally the only way to sell a drug is to market it to people directly. This is the essence of consumer marketing — it only fulfills needs that it first creates, e.g., “Your breath is disgusting and people mock you behind your back, so use this mouthwash.”
  - listenallyall 5y ago
    That's kind of the default, "let's be cynical", viewpoint, don't you think? Some people do have awful breath. Lots of old men couldn't get an erection. Certainly you aren't claiming that diabetes, arthritis, or depression are not a real issues to be treated? Today I saw a commercial for a shingles vaccine. All I know about shingles is that David Letterman got it and it kept him off the air for a while and he said it was miserable. I'd certainly consider getting a vaccine.