It’s hard to believe that “antitrust” enforcers are accusing a drug company of monopolistic practices for a drug that costs $500 dollars for a complete course of treatment. While I certainly agree that the price increase noted in the article ($36 to about $500) is not supportable by the cost of development and manufacture, there are far worse, and more costly, examples of drug patent monopoly abuses.
Consider, for example, drugs under patent that are used in patients with fatal and or debilitating disease that cost a much as $10,000/month and over $100,000/year–more than the average and median income/year in the U.S. These new drugs have, for the most part, limited efficacy and represent an incremental improvement in treatment and outcomes. Their development costs are often subsidized with tax funds and their pricing inflated by inefficiency, marketing costs and greed.
While I consider the issue of Ovation drugs for patent ductus is significant, the drug cost involved is trifling compared to the other abuses of the pharmaceutical industry.
We need patent reform. Medicynical views have been outlined here and here.
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