Tuesday, November 23, 2004
What goes into prescription drug prices
[Deroy Murdock, "Why new drugs cost so much," The Washington Times, 22 November 2004.]
As shown by the recent article on state efforts to "crack down" on drug prices, public officials are increasingly targeting pharmaceutical companies as enemies of the people who charge exhorbitant fees for cheaply manufactured remedies. But, as columnist Deroy Murdock points out, that picture does not reflect reality:
"Of the 1,200 molecules tested here last year," [Merck's] Dr. [Graham] Smith says, "eight went on to the next step. And not all of those will go on to become drugs." Dr. Smith and his team of analytic chemists fail steadily, on average, for 6 ½ weeks before discovering a potential therapy. Another 32 days usually pass before that happens again.
Merck is not alone in throwing most of its darts straight into the floor. According to John T. Kelly, M.D., of the Washington-based Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, "Only 5 in 5,000 compounds that enter preclinical testing make it to human testing. And only 1 of these 5 tested in people is approved for sale."
Citing Tufts University data, Dr. Kelly added: "On average, it costs a company $802 million to get one new medicine from the laboratory to U.S. patients. This process normally takes 10 to 15 years." This is why new cures cost what they do, and why price-controlled Canadian drugs, industry-led product discounts, and California Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman's comment that "frankly, it doesn't make sense to me" that innovation and high prices are connected, all will make it harder for Merck's lab and its counterparts to cover their costs. These factors boost the odds that the lights in these miracle factories will flicker, then fade to black.
The vaccine against this ailment is for pharmaceutical companies to teach Americans — starting with Washington's bipartisan political class — a simple but vital truth: Those little pills do not invent themselves.
[Deroy Murdock, "Why new drugs cost so much," The Washington Times, 22 November 2004.]
As shown by the recent article on state efforts to "crack down" on drug prices, public officials are increasingly targeting pharmaceutical companies as enemies of the people who charge exhorbitant fees for cheaply manufactured remedies. But, as columnist Deroy Murdock points out, that picture does not reflect reality:
"Of the 1,200 molecules tested here last year," [Merck's] Dr. [Graham] Smith says, "eight went on to the next step. And not all of those will go on to become drugs." Dr. Smith and his team of analytic chemists fail steadily, on average, for 6 ½ weeks before discovering a potential therapy. Another 32 days usually pass before that happens again.
Merck is not alone in throwing most of its darts straight into the floor. According to John T. Kelly, M.D., of the Washington-based Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, "Only 5 in 5,000 compounds that enter preclinical testing make it to human testing. And only 1 of these 5 tested in people is approved for sale."
Citing Tufts University data, Dr. Kelly added: "On average, it costs a company $802 million to get one new medicine from the laboratory to U.S. patients. This process normally takes 10 to 15 years." This is why new cures cost what they do, and why price-controlled Canadian drugs, industry-led product discounts, and California Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman's comment that "frankly, it doesn't make sense to me" that innovation and high prices are connected, all will make it harder for Merck's lab and its counterparts to cover their costs. These factors boost the odds that the lights in these miracle factories will flicker, then fade to black.
The vaccine against this ailment is for pharmaceutical companies to teach Americans — starting with Washington's bipartisan political class — a simple but vital truth: Those little pills do not invent themselves.
Comments:
Post a Comment
