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Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 12e
| Section I. General Principles > |
Public Policy Considerations and Criticisms of the Pharmaceutical Industry
Sections: Mistrust of Scientists and Industry, Pricing and Profitability, Who Pays?, Intellectual Property and Patents, Drug Promotion, Exploitation or "Medical Imperialism", Product Liability, "Me Too" versus True Innovation: The Pace of New Drug Development.
Topics Discussed: advertising; civil and criminal liability; cost, access, and quality of health care; diffusion of innovation; direct and indirect health care costs; drug costs; drug development; drug discovery; drug industry; funding; health care costs; health care quality, access, and evaluation; health services accessibility; insurance, health, reimbursement; intellectual property; investigational new drugs; liability, legal; malpractice; new drug application; patents; pharmaceutical industry pharmacy practice; pharmaceutical preparations; public opinion; public policy; reimbursement mechanisms; trust and distrust; uninsured medical expense.
Excerpt:"There is no doubt that drugs can save lives, prolong lives, and improve the quality of people's lives. Like adequate nutrition, vaccinations and medications are important for public health. However, in a free-market economy, access to safe and effective drugs (or any kind of healthcare, for that matter) is not equitable. Not surprisingly, there is a substantial tension between those who would treat drugs as entitlements and those who view drugs as high-tech products of a capitalistic society. Supporters of the entitlement position argue that the constitutional right to life should guarantee access to drugs and other healthcare, and they are critical of pharmaceutical companies and others who profit from the business of making and selling drugs. Free-marketers point out that, without a profit motive, it would be difficult to generate the resources and innovation required for new drug development.Those critical of the pharmaceutical industry frequently begin from the position that people (and animals) need to be protected from greedy and unscrupulous companies and scientists (Kassirer, 2005). They can point to the very unfortunate (and highly publicized) occurrences of graft, fraud, and misconduct by scientists and industry executives, and unethical behavior in..."
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