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The truth about prescription drug costs
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:28 pm
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:28 pm
Was talking to a Canadian friend on the phone the other day and the subject of prescription drug costs came up. He started praising not having to pay anything for drugs and I had to stop him.
The reason drug prices in the US are so expensive is because we subsidize a huge portion of the rest of the world's prescription drugs. The average cost to bring a drug to market from testing on mice or rats through 3 phases of clinical trials to FDA approval is around $1.3 billion. And with only about 9% of drugs making it to approval without failing along the way ...all of that money has to eventually make sense.
I've done a lot of developmental stage drug company investing over the years and for both domestic and foreign companies the US is always the priority market because otherwise it's probably not worth spending massive developmental cash because it won't be recouped.
I'm currently invested in a company with a recently approved treatment that sells it for $20k USD each in Germany and $180k here.
This is a big reason why prescription drugs are so expensive.
The reason drug prices in the US are so expensive is because we subsidize a huge portion of the rest of the world's prescription drugs. The average cost to bring a drug to market from testing on mice or rats through 3 phases of clinical trials to FDA approval is around $1.3 billion. And with only about 9% of drugs making it to approval without failing along the way ...all of that money has to eventually make sense.
I've done a lot of developmental stage drug company investing over the years and for both domestic and foreign companies the US is always the priority market because otherwise it's probably not worth spending massive developmental cash because it won't be recouped.
I'm currently invested in a company with a recently approved treatment that sells it for $20k USD each in Germany and $180k here.
This is a big reason why prescription drugs are so expensive.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:31 pm to Diseasefreeforall
quote:
The reason drug prices in the US are so expensive is because we subsidize a huge portion of the rest of the world's prescription drugs
Why we do this?
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:31 pm to Diseasefreeforall
Can we end the fricking commercials already. That shite should be illegal.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:32 pm to Diseasefreeforall
quote:
This is a big reason why prescription drugs are so expensive.
Eat as healthy as possible, workout with a focus on VO2, and get plenty of sleep. All of that is free.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:36 pm to Diseasefreeforall
It’s a huge part of it
now if you have a novel treatment for a disease even the euros will pay more.
But we basically foot the bill and the rest of the world with price controls is lagniappe.
that’s being says we keep coming up with new antidepressants and dick pills.
now if you have a novel treatment for a disease even the euros will pay more.
But we basically foot the bill and the rest of the world with price controls is lagniappe.
that’s being says we keep coming up with new antidepressants and dick pills.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:37 pm to Diseasefreeforall
quote:So drug companies just give their product away?
He started praising not having to pay anything for drugs
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:39 pm to Diseasefreeforall
Pay for over the counter stuff. It's out of sight as I learned today.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:39 pm to OysterPoBoy
quote:
Why we do this?
Socialized healthcare systems won't pay for drug development because it's so expensive and failure prone so it's left for US public markets to find investment.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:39 pm to Aubie Spr96
I’m sure people with multiple sclerosis and pancreatic cancer are punching the wall and wondering why they couldn’t think of that.
To the OP, the governments of Canada, Germany, etc are the ones buying the drugs, right?
Why are the drug companies charging Cigna and Aetna 160K (then negotiated to 90-100K), while only 20K to governments?
To the OP, the governments of Canada, Germany, etc are the ones buying the drugs, right?
Why are the drug companies charging Cigna and Aetna 160K (then negotiated to 90-100K), while only 20K to governments?
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:43 pm to Keys Open Doors
quote:
Why are the drug companies charging Cigna and Aetna 160K (then negotiated to 90-100K), while only 20K to governments?
Singnle payer negotiation helps.
Germany can basically say, “we’ll stick with Aspirin if your new headache medicine isn’t affordable thanks”
If Cigna doesn’t pay for drugs you may just move you whole company to BCBS if your employees are pissed about it.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:46 pm to OysterPoBoy
$$$ Follow the money all the way into the lawmakers pockets. Many, many elected officials become EXRTEMELY wealthy via kickbacks, investments, and lobbyists within the pharmaceutical universe. We all see it and know it's happening. Yet, we are still allowing "them" to do this. Go to any governmental committee hearing on any subject and you can see the swamp monsters at work. See for yourself.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:49 pm to SammyTiger
quote:
Singnle payer negotiation helps.
Germany can basically say, “we’ll stick with Aspirin if your new headache medicine isn’t affordable thanks”
If Cigna doesn’t pay for drugs you may just move you whole company to BCBS if your employees are pissed about it.
The problem is that the money to pay for the development process has to come from somewhere. Without it we won't have new drugs that could save or prolong countless lives, like cancer immunotherapies have done over the past few decades.
Without high US reimbursement costs the whole system would collapse.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:49 pm to OysterPoBoy
quote:
Why we do this?
Far to large of a topic to give a full answer but Europe has way more price setting and if a company won’t sell at the price given, countries can threaten to allow generics to enter the market immediately or faster than IP protections would allow. this also leads to companies not applying for approval in countries that do this to avoid getting fricked on price setting. So access to medicine in Europe isn’t as good as the US but the drugs in the US can be so expensive access is misleading because you still can’t afford it. PhRMA and others will tell you that prices are high in the US because we are subsidizing other nations but if those other nations didn’t price set, they would get the same high price that we have.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:55 pm to Diseasefreeforall
quote:When your say "we" do you mean government or private investment?
The reason drug prices in the US are so expensive is because we subsidize a huge portion of the rest of the world's prescription drugs
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:55 pm to Diseasefreeforall
The US is rich and can afford to pay more..
Signed the rest of the world.
Signed the rest of the world.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 2:59 pm to Gravitiger
quote:
When your say "we" do you mean government or private investment?
Investors put up the initial cash but the cost eventually comes out of all Americans' pockets.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 3:00 pm to Diseasefreeforall
You and SammyTiger seem to know this market well.
In the US, there is clearly Medicare as a large single payer negotiating party but that can only be for users above a certain age.
With the private insurance companies, wouldn’t four or five have the vast majority of the market share?
I’m thinking Cigna, Aetna, the collection of various Blue Cross Blue Shield companies (Anthem, BCBS Texas, etc), United, and Kaiser Permanente would be the major players.
In the US, there is clearly Medicare as a large single payer negotiating party but that can only be for users above a certain age.
With the private insurance companies, wouldn’t four or five have the vast majority of the market share?
I’m thinking Cigna, Aetna, the collection of various Blue Cross Blue Shield companies (Anthem, BCBS Texas, etc), United, and Kaiser Permanente would be the major players.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 3:11 pm to UKWildcats
quote:
Can we end the fricking commercials already. That shite should be illegal.
Especially with rare diseases, there are people who actually learn about available medicines through commercials. I don’t see why it should be illegal to advertise drugs like you would any other product.
Posted on 10/23/24 at 3:14 pm to Diseasefreeforall
Medicine just makes you sicker
Get off the carbs and do some squats
Get off the carbs and do some squats
Posted on 10/23/24 at 3:29 pm to Diseasefreeforall
Don’t take prescription drugs. Period.
If you put that shite in your body, you deserve everything coming to you.
If you put that shite in your body, you deserve everything coming to you.
This post was edited on 10/23/24 at 3:31 pm
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