New Post (124 ) : The new cancer drugs are so damn expensive !
1. Himalayan prices make for a bitter pill to swallow.
The astonishing prices drug companies are charging for cancer drugs…is shocking.
For years, we've been hearing about the "magic bullet" drugs that will expand cancer treatment beyond the long-standing triad of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Also referred to as ---slash, burn, & poison.
A few of these new drugs have won approval and come to market,
…but the prices are so high that many patients who might benefit will not afford them.
(&) Why are these drugs so expensive?
It's hard to know exactly, since drug pricing is a protected sacred prerogative and so the fine details remain shrouded in trade secrets.
Fact is that drug companies can charge whatever price they want.
All pharmaceutical companies, cite research costs and the huge risks involved in drug development
-That many drugs fail.
-That clinical trials are expensive.
Familiar nonsense, …as explanations for the high prices of their drugs.
The real reason is that market forces do not apply to drugs.
2. Isn't any price worth it to save a life ?
Perhaps, but despite the highly extortionate prices, these drugs often accomplish far less.
A 1-6 month extension of life can wipe out all the financial resources of a middle class family !
A marketplace with absolutely no price control will only propel the drug companies to charge even more for future drugs, some of which may offer even less benefit.
To my mind---The only way out is a 100% Government funded and strictly supervised drug development for cancer at a highly select & dedicated small number of private laboratories.
This is not a matter that can be left to “insurance and Pharmaceutical” companies.
Charlie Brown
