What’s Wrong with the Market for Asthma Drugs?
The problem:
Pulm
icort, a steroid inhaler, generally retails for over $175 in the United States, while pharmacists in Britain buy the identical product for about $20 and dispense it free of charge to asthma patients. Albuterol, one of the oldest asthma medicines, typically costs $50 to $100 per inhaler in the United States, but it was less than $15 a decade ago, before it was repatented…
Rhinocort Aqua, a prescription drug that [sells] for more than $250 a month in Oakland pharmacies last year but costs under $7 in Europe, where it is available over the counter.
The role of government:
[T]here are no generic asthma inhalers available in the United States. But they are available in Europe, where health regulators have been more flexible about mixing drugs and devices and where courts have been quicker to overturn drug-patent protection.
“The high prices in the U.S. are because the F.D.A. has set the bar so high that there is no clear pathway for generics,” said Lisa Urquhart of EvaluatePharma, a consulting firm based in London that provides drug and biotech analysis. “I’m sure the brands are thrilled.”
Source: The New York Times.
Why has the FDA set the bar so high? Obviously Europe views the generics as safe alternatives so it can’t be a safety risk.
I would guess money. There has to be some ‘under-the-table’ transactions going on here.
Why else would they gouge the consumer?
Speaking of which, how is this not a textbook example of price gouging?
Here’s your answer:
“Thanks in part to the $250 million last year spent on lobbying for pharmaceutical and health products — more than even the defense industry — the government allows such practices.”
Why lobbying is legal; I really don’t understand.
“…the parents of Bella Buyanurt, 7, fretted about how they would buy her medications since the family lost Medicaid coverage.”
Maybe those who lobbied for the high prices, need to go explain there motives to the Buyanurt’s.
Is there any consumer benefit to strong drug-patent protection?
For the Pharmaceutical companies there is, consumers don’t see the benefit until generics are marketed
We need to follow Maine’s lead
http://healthblog.ncpathinktank.org/maine-to-import-prescription-drugs/
Absolutely!
“Pharmaceutical companies also buttress high prices by choosing to sell a medicine by prescription, rather than over the counter, so that insurers cover a price tag that would be unacceptable to consumers paying full freight.”
I noticed when working in a Pharmacy this happens all the time.
It is a sad sight to see. Maybe the energies spent on Obamacare should have been spent on sorting through the corruption brought about by drug makers
And the 3 or 4 brand name products mentioned…were they researched and developed in the US? Is any other country as successful at developing high quality drugs or only copying them as generics? You don’t get innovation if you can’t make money at innovating.
While that can be true, the US is the only country the advertises prescription drugs so heavily. Maybe the added price comes from the marketing costs.
People with asthma just have to understand The Ozone Layer is more important than their asthma! According to a Sept. 2011 FDA announcement, breathing is optional:
Things are improving. Less than a year ago, the FDA approved an oxybutynin patch for OTC sales. The FDA just announced the corticosteroid, Nasacort Allergy Spray (i.e. Triamcinolone) has been approved for sale OTC. Both of these represent a first-in-class switch.