View Single Post
Old 03-19-2010, 08:13 AM   #14
fatnoah
Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 37
Thanks: 0
Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Default

Quote:
The cost for 30 pills? $9,000. Yes, great healthcare system...
My wife works in a regulartory compliance role for a drug manufacturer that specializes in rare diseases, such as things that only a few thousand people have worldwide. Don't get me wrong, these companies are out to make money, but they are made up of people dedicated to curing these illnesses.

Unfortunately, drugs are very expensive to develop. In addition to scientists, companies have teams of lawyers and other regulatory specialists to ensure the companies don't run afoul of FDA regulations that govern every possible aspect of creating and marketing drugs, right down to the punctuation in an ad.

One of the drugs my wife works on showed promise in treating adult leukemia. After over $100 million spent on mandated studies, the FDA panel decided in a 7-5 vote that more studies were needed. Cost of additional studies: roughly $40 million.

The system is broken, that's for sure, but it's the WHOLE system, not just hostpitals or insurance companies.
fatnoah is offline   Reply With Quote