E-drug: WHO's role in trade agreements-preferential prices (cont'd)
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Dr. von Schoen-Angerer suggests that a drug's price should be a
function of the cost of developing it, though it appears that his faith in
the industry's willingness to disclose that data is in perfect control.
That reasoning not only belies profound skepticism of the industry's
integrity. It implies that those who decide on whether a drug is worth
its price should be ruled by the costs behind it. One wonders why? If
a firm provided certifiable proof that it cost them $500 million to
develop a new drug, why would any rational person conclude that
that cost justifies its price? Out of empathy for the poor drug
company? Clearly, there can be only one overarching criterion for
determining the acceptability of any drug's price: what it does for the
patient, period. Thus, a drug that costs $100 a day but gets the
patient healthy and back to work in half the time may be a "bargain"
by comparison to one that costs far less but subjects the patient to
prolonged pain, further hospital time, increased likelihood of adverse
reactions, or whatever. The development cost for either the "costly"
new drug or the "cheap" older one is, or should be, utterly irrelevant.
One's personal animosity toward the drug industry, so clearly evident
here, should be controlled enough that the object of our efforts, the
patient, is kept foremost in mind.
James B. Russo
Executive Director
The Partnership for Quality Medical Donations
e-mail: JBRusso@aol.com
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