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> Otsuka’s patent on Abilify will expire in April, costing it an estimated $65 billion over the next four years. That statement is false, and demonstrated clea

> Otsuka’s patent on Abilify will expire in April, costing it an estimated $65 billion over the next four years. That statement is false, and demonstrated clearly in the author's source: > Drug makers face another patent cliff in which the industry will lose roughly $65 billion in revenue through the end of 2019, according to a research firm’s report. ... > GlobalData estimates Otsuka will lose $6.2 billion in annual sales due to competition from generics by 2019. Edit: Continuing on this theme, according to Google finance Otsuka's net profit margin is 10%, which I think is on the higher end of reasonable. Now, I'm not saying the price they charge in the US is fair (for some definition of fair), but one does need to consider how much the ridiculous American drug prices are subsidizing the $24/year NHS prescriptions. A government can regulate the price of drugs, but can't force the companies to sell them in the first place. Not directly, anyway.

CHY872 12y ago
> Now, I'm not saying the price they charge in the US is fair (for some definition of fair), but one does need to consider how much the ridiculous American drug prices are subsidizing the $24/year NHS prescriptions. A government can regulate the price of drugs, but can't force the companies to sell them in the first place. Not directly, anyway. Remember that the cost to the NHS is far more than $24 - which refers to the £8 prescription fee paid in the UK, twice per year. It's actually £220.41 per patient per month for the NHS - about $335. So whilst it's still somewhat more expensive in the US, it's not much more expensive - and well within the bounds of shrewd negotiating (which I'd imagine insurers would normally do). [1] - http://www.awp.nhs.uk/handlers/downloads.ashx?id=9572 http://www.awp.nhs.uk/handlers/downloads.ashx?id=9572
- vonmoltke 12y ago
  I figured it was costing the NHS much more than that, but I did not know they were covering so much. Thanks for the information. The issue of what insurers actually pay versus what the uninsured are expected to pay is a tangential hot button issue for me, especially since I started treatment for my sleep disorders.
  - CHY872 12y ago
    Any prescription you get on the NHS costs the same amount (and there are many exemptions, for example they're free if you're a child, unemployed, retired, a cancer patient etc). There's always some debate about certain very expensive drugs (generally for cancer) and whether the NHS should pay.

CHY872 12y ago

> Now, I'm not saying the price they charge in the US is fair (for some definition of fair), but one does need to consider how much the ridiculous American drug prices are subsidizing the $24/year NHS prescriptions. A government can regulate the price of drugs, but can't force the companies to sell them in the first place. Not directly, anyway. Remember that the cost to the NHS is far more than $24 - which refers to the £8 prescription fee paid in the UK, twice per year. It's actually £220.41 per patient per month for the NHS - about $335. So whilst it's still somewhat more expensive in the US, it's not much more expensive - and well within the bounds of shrewd negotiating (which I'd imagine insurers would normally do). [1] - http://www.awp.nhs.uk/handlers/downloads.ashx?id=9572 http://www.awp.nhs.uk/handlers/downloads.ashx?id=9572

vonmoltke 12y ago
I figured it was costing the NHS much more than that, but I did not know they were covering so much. Thanks for the information. The issue of what insurers actually pay versus what the uninsured are expected to pay is a tangential hot button issue for me, especially since I started treatment for my sleep disorders.
- CHY872 12y ago
  Any prescription you get on the NHS costs the same amount (and there are many exemptions, for example they're free if you're a child, unemployed, retired, a cancer patient etc). There's always some debate about certain very expensive drugs (generally for cancer) and whether the NHS should pay.