Understand that Martin is the poster boy for the corruptish practices in what was once a self proclaimed “ethical” industry. In fact the pharmaceutical industry, Big Pharma in the United States, has always run close to ethical boundaries. Going back to my graduation from medical school, who was there to take the senior class to an expense paid weekend in New York? Why none other than that “ethical” company Ely Lilly. Some might have called this a conflict of interest for both the new docs and the “ethical” company but when you are a poor struggling senior medical student you are easily bribed. To this day doctors are targets of drug companies often receiving various forms of payments for either their continued use of products or for listening to the spiels of drug salesmen. In this relationship there is a very narrow line between legitimate product education and payment for services.
Throughout the next 48 years of my professional life this so-called “ethical” industry did everything to protect and improve its position. They have one of the strongest lobbys in D.C., having most of the congress on their payroll—facilitated by our Supreme Court. In that time we have seen medicine change from an ostensibly doing good industry into a doing well industry. Patients no longer are viewed as sick people but rather customers for various product lines. Drugs are no longer developed to help patients but rather to improve company’s bottom lines and yes the sicker the patient the more we can charge, regardless of the cost of drug development.
Getting back to our stooge Shkreli, he has been the focus of our ire for his raising the prices of medications that his company has bought the rights to. He gleefully accepted the criticism and cynically shows no contrition. But consider that his behavior is standard for the drug industry; that Big Pharma has been gouging U.S. consumers for years; that his companies governing boards have approved of his actions (only removing him because of his alleged earlier criminal behavior).
Some examples of drug company gouging and misbehavior can be found by simply reviewing Medicynic’s archives but to make it easy with a quick googling I came up with these examples.
http://www.businessinsider.com/john-oliver-takes-down-prescription-drug-industry-2015-2
https://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/
http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/09/investing/drug-ceo-daraprim-price/
http://www.wallstreetotc.com/serious-price-increase-for-generic-drugs/212724/
http://www.wallstreetotc.com/serious-price-increase-for-generic-drugs/212724/
Medicynical Note: And it’s not just generics increasing in price. New patented cancer drugs start their pricing now at $10,000/month and increase at rates often over 10% a year. For example, Gleevac (imitinab), a drug for chronic myelogenous leukemia, was released in 2000 at a price of around $40,000/year it’s now three times that price. Drug prices are based on whether there is an alternative and how sick the patient is, not the cost of development. The fewer the options and the sicker the patient the higher the price. And yes in the U.S., being the perfect fools, we pay much much more for drugs than anyplace else in the world. Why? Because Big Pharma has abused the system and induced congress to ignore their abuses.
Instead of damning the clown Shkreli, we should be thanking him for bringing the price gouging of Pharma to our attention. Will anything be done? For good reason I’m a medicynic, so I don’t think our congress is capable of intervening. They don’t bite the hands that feed them. Sad, but that’s American Exceptionalism.
Medicynic 