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Alexa Langford

Dr. Carolyn Holloway

English 2010

October 5, 2011

Why are Prescription Drugs so Expensive?

Many believe the price of prescription medications is too high. In America there is no cap on

what the drug companies can charge so they set the prices. Although these drugs benefit our everyday

life they are becoming too expensive for most Americans to afford.  There are many factors that

currently go into making a drug but it may not be worth the cost. It is a tough decision because we need

the drugs but most agree that they are unfairly priced. There are strong opinions on both sides but the

consensus seems to be that the drugs are overpriced and people who need them are having a hard time

gaining access and affording them.

Canada vs. The United States

There are two reasons that Canadian drug prices are

significantly less than American. First, Canada has price controls;

they have a board that puts a cap on the market price of new, brand

name drugs. They only allow the price to rise based on inflation,

this reduces the price between brand name and generic and also

prevents the drug companies from hiking up the prices. Secondly,

the U.S. consumer pays up to 3000 times what the drug is worth.

This is because they are the only nation that does not control drug

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prices. The drug companies are not putting this increased money to good use, they are instead

pocketing the money they could be investing in future research. They are generally not using any new

ingredients, and when they come out with new drugs (also known as “me too” drugs) the doctor

prescribes them because they are told there are better and new ingredients in them, or even because the

drug representative bought him lunch, however, in reality they almost all have the same ingredients as

the old ones just with a new price tag. They are called “me too” drugs because they use the same

ingredients and you get the same result, you can just sell them for more because they are “new and

improved!” The article stated that, “In 2002, seventy-eight new drugs were approved by the FDA. Of

those, only seventeen were deemed by the FDA to have new active ingredients, and only seven were

found to be improvements over the older drugs. On top of that, of the seven found to be an

improvement over the older drug, not one of them came from U.S. Companies” (“Why do prescription

medications cost so much more in the U.S. than Canada?”).

Cutting Research and Development

The drug companies are cutting research and

development on potentially successful projects that are

not producing immediate results. Stephen Foley says,

“Yes, these are companies that have manipulated the

publication of scientific data, made over-reaching claims

for their drugs, and practiced price gouging of

government health and insurance services, but they are

also companies that lower our cholesterol, shrink

tumors, keep diabetes in check and lift the burdens of

depression.” He brings to the table a very important

idea, people need these drugs and they are actually

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helping with our health issues. However, since we need many of these drugs to survive, it puts the drug

companies are able to cheat us out of money. The drug companies should not be allowed to take

advantage of ill customers and they certainly should not cut funding for research. The author has a

good point when he says, “Cutting the cost of research and development is like cutting off your leg to

lose weight. Why not cut the fat of advertisement out first. After all, aren’t doctors supposed to tell us

the medicines we need? After they get rid of the cost of research and development, what excuse will

big pharma have left to overcharge consumers?” (“Big Pharma making big cuts in R&D”).

Grouping Drugs

The average person is now continuing to work past

retirement to be able to have the continued health benefits

for their family. They are under the impression that they

are paying such a high premium for better or cheaper rates.

It is not uncommon for insurance companies to have

contracted rates with pharmacies, this is where they group

their drugs into tiers. For example, they have drugs on list

A cost fifteen dollars, on list B cost thirty-five dollars and

so on, this way you are paying your premium and on top of

that, you are still paying the hefty cost for drugs. This just does not seem right, especially when most of

the medications are necessary for people to live (“Double Whammy: Insurance Companies Charge You

Two Times”).

Development

One of the critical things that needs to be understood before one can completely understand the

issues surrounding why prescription drugs are so expensive. First to go through the steps of developing

“new” drugs: discovering a new compound that affects a health problem, determine its effects and

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safety on cells and then later its effects on animals, then test the drug on healthy humans to see how

they react, after that test it on humans that actually have the health problem to see if it helps, once it is

proven safe and effective they apply for a license from the FDA to manufacture and sell the drug. The

FDA is very picky on drugs they let through, as they should be. However this makes it difficult for the

drug companies to get their drugs to the point where they can be sold. They spend all this money

trying to get the drug approved only to have it fail. They charge more for a drug that gets approved to

make up for the money they spent on research and development for the ones that did not make the cut.

The author, Omudhome Ogbru, Pharm.D. has this to say about the overpriced drugs, “The price of

drugs should be weighed against their benefits. Since many drugs reduce pain and suffering, prevent

disease, or extend life, they should be seen as miracles. Viewed in this light, and compared to other

items that cost as much or more but do not provide the same level of benefit, drug prices may not be so

unreasonable.” I still think that they should cut the advertising money but this article did make me see

it from the drug companies’ side (Ogbru).

Places to Turn for Assistance

Before, Ashley Boynes-Shuck, got brain surgery she was taking about twenty pills a day. As

you can imagine, this gets expensive. She has

been battling debilitating auto-immune diseases,

such as rheumatoid arthritis, since she was ten.

She was constantly scared of losing her insurance

and having to pay for all those medications on

her own. She was recently prescribed a very

expensive drug, but it came with a surprise, there

was a patient assistant program to help with the

cost. She also found out about the website

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Needymeds.org. If you are prescribed an expensive medication that is not offered as a generic, you

check the list and sometimes they manufactures have posted discounts and coupons for your drug.

Some are need based but some are not, so even if you have insurance you may still get the discounts.

Upon visiting this website they have a lot of options available to get your drugs at a discounted price.

This new information makes the drug companies seem a little better than they are generally portrayed

in the media (Taylor).

When it comes down to it, there needs to be a compromise. The drug companies need to start

investing their money instead of just pocketing it. They also need to stop coming out with “new” drugs

that have the same ingredients and do the same things the last drug did, but pack a much heftier price

tag. On the other hand, people need to realize that these drugs are helping their quality of life and

without the funding, research cannot happen which means the drugs cannot be provided to them. It is

important that we are always improving and finding new treatments because they are helping people.

The drug companies also need to provide ways for people to get their medication at a discounted price

so that those who need them can gain access to them. As the consumer, we need to be aware of why the

prices are so high and also what we can do about it. The drug companies also need to do their part to

decrease the cost of drugs, they need to stop worrying so much about advertising because no matter

how much they advertise, the consumer will not buy the drugs if they can not afford to help pay for all

of the advertising that comes along with.

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Works Cited

“Why do prescription medications cost so much more in the U.S. than Canada?”, Edrugsearch blog, Nov. 16, 2006 , www.edrugsearch.com, web. Sept. 20, 2011.

“Big Pharma making big cuts in R&D”, Edrugsearch blog, Feb. 8, 2010, www.edrugsearch.com, Sept. 20, 2011.

“Double Whammy: Insurance Companies Charge You Two Times,”Sept. 11, 2011 www.rx-savings-solutions.com, web. Sept. 20, 2011

Ogbru, Omudhome Pharm.D.“Why Drugs Cost So Much”, Medicinenet, Feb 9, 2002, www.medicinenet.com, web. Sept. 20, 2011.

Taylor, Robin. “Are You Paying Too Much For Expensive Medications?” Target 11, Sept 13, 2011, www.wpxi.com, web. Sept 20, 2011.