Drug Makers Are Leading the Way on R&D
By Kenneth E. Thorpe
Over five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease. While a few drugs can temporarily alleviate symptoms, there's no treatment that slows the progression of the underlying disease; so family members watch helplessly as their loved ones' minds fade away.
Drug companies are determined to end this suffering. So far, 99 percent of Alzheimer's clinical trials have failed, costing companies billions. Despite these repeated stumbles, firms are undeterred and currently have more than 70 potential Alzheimer's treatments in development.
Despite these investments, some argue that drug companies aren't devoting enough resources to research and development. The Institute for New Economic Thinking issued a scathing paper this summer. It condemns drug makers for buying back company stock and paying dividends to shareholders, rather than spending every available cent on research and development (R&D). The Institute urges the government to push aside these private companies and take a more active role in developing medicines.
This criticism is unfair -- and the recommendation to elbow aside the private sector is dangerous. Without the hundreds of billions of dollars committed by private-sector researchers, it will be virtually impossible to cure Alzheimer's, cancer and dozens of other scourges.
The pharmaceutical industry invests a much higher percentage of revenues into R&D than other sectors. The top 18 drug companies, according to the Institute, spent an average of 16 percent of proceeds on R&D from 2006 to 2015.
Compare that to the automobile industry. Despite the prevailing narrative of a "spare no expense" race to develop self-driving vehicles, the sector reinvests just four percent of revenues into R&D, according to consulting firm PwC.
Pharmaceutical companies' investments have led to lifesaving therapies. Since 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved more than 550 new medicines.
The most impressive breakthroughs are yet to come.
Globally, more than 7,000 new treatments are in development. Seventy percent of these medicines use completely new methods to treat an illness. Consider CAR-T cell therapy, a technique that reengineers a patient's own immune system to kill tumors. The experimental medicine, which received FDA approval in August, put many patients with advanced leukemia into remission during clinical trials.
It's naïve to think that firms will continue making these costly, risky investments if there's no chance of earning a return. Drug companies deliver enormous benefits to society, but they're not charities. If they can't offer investors a chance at attractive returns, they won't be able to raise funding for future research.
The government is in no position to supersede these firms. Private R&D spending dwarfs the National Institutes of Health's $32 billion budget. Given the political realities in Washington, does anyone seriously think the government is able and willing to exponentially increase funding for medical research?
Americas' physical and financial health depends on continued private medical R&D. Currently, 40 percent of Americans suffer from a chronic illness. These diseases account for 90 percent of total U.S. health care costs.
New treatments and cures offer the best hope of tempering this spending. If pharmaceutical companies develop a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease by 2025, Americans could save $220 billion by 2030.
Critics of the pharmaceutical industry say firms don't spend all that much on research and development. If those accusations were true, who deserves credit for the hundreds of new medications that improve people's lives and lower health care costs?
Kenneth E. Thorpe is a professor of health policy at Emory University and the chairman of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease.
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting
More Medicine Information:
Related Articles
Lunesta Pregnancy And Breastfeeding
Lunesta is a newly released sleeping pill. Marketed as a revolutionary sleep aid, Lunesta is the only medication approved by the FDA for long term treatment of insomnia symptoms.
Marketing Authorisation - Medicinal Products
Marketing Authorisation: Medicinal Products The case of R (on the application of Merck Sharp and Dohme Ltd) v Licensing Authority [2005], concerned the application for marketing authorisation for a generic product which was based on Product C (see below).The claimant had marketing authorisations for three medicinal products used in the treatment of osteoporosis and three generic companies sought marketing authorisation for Product C.
Are Drug Companies Destroying The U.S. Health Care System?
The U.S.
A Closer Look at Neck Pain Relief
Neck pain afflicts many people at some point in their life - two-thirds of American adults report having experienced at least one incidence of neck pain in their lives. You can strain your neck during exercise, at work, or even something as simple as turning over in your sleep.
"Winning the War Against Rheumatoid Arthritis"
RA is a condition that forces half of patients to become disabled from the work force within five to ten years? and reduces life expectancy by as much as 18 years. RA affects about one per cent of the world's adult population, most commonly women between the ages of 30 and 50.
When Your John Doe Is Homeless
The patient, known only as John Doe, was difficult to see under the hodgepodge of tubing, the quiet clicking of the ventilator the room's only sound.From all appearances he was homeless, but in the opinion of his nurse, who has had vast experience in dealing with patients just like him, everyone has a mother or a father, a son or a daughter, and homeless or not, it's a nurse's responsibility to do what he can to help find them.
"Get Rid of Tendonitis ? Now!" Advice From An Expert?
Tendons are ropes of fibrous tissue that connect muscles to bones. It is this connection that permits joint motion.
The Truth about C Reactive Protein and Cholesterol Lowering Drugs
You might disagree, but hear me out on this..
Chinese Medicine
Chinese Medicine, over 2000 years old, is an ancient form of medicine. Consisting of acupuncture, moxibustion (moxibustion - using material made up of "moxa-wool," in a form of a cone or stick; moxibustion is used to treat and prevent disease by applying heat to pints or certain locations of the human body), herbal medicine, acupressure, cupping, therapeutic exercise and nutrition, traditional Chinese medicine is notated by its principle of internal balance and harmony, or "chi," (life force) regulation through energy channels.
Healthcare Providers -- Its Time for Your Physical
I think this is a good time for a checkup, or physical as it is termed in the healthcare industry. I mean this is a good time to check the health of your site or setting.
Anxiety Management With Prescription BuSpar: Don't Worry, Be Happy
We've all had one of those weeks: the washing machine overflows, the dog forgets his housetraining and the toddler her toilet training, the boss is going through a divorce and making everyone miserable. And you feel like you just don't know how to handle it all.
Bextra and Vioxx -- Tips for Arthritis Relief Without Them
The recent withdrawal of Vioxx and Bextra from the marketplace, due to concerns over unwanted side effects, has many arthritis sufferers concerned. These drugs, which belong to a powerful class of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors, are quite effective at fighting the pain and inflammation of arthritis.
Jet Lag Pills - Panacea or Placebo Effect?
We live in an age that demands an instant cure for every conceivable ailment under the sun and so it's no surprise that jet lag has joined the band of conditions for which there is the promise of a cure in the form of a pill. But can a pill really provide the panacea to jet lag, or are the results of taking such pills nothing more than imagined.
Bulk Forming Drugstore Laxatives
There are five basic types of drugstore laxatives you should be aware of. Some of these laxatives can be dangerous to use.
Building A Medical Spa Inside Your Existing Medical Practice
The physicians conundrum:Everywhere, physicians are contemplating or engaged in expanding into the "medical spa" market. Seduced by the media buzz around this hot new phenomenon, many doctors see the medical spa as a means boosting their income and eliminating the growing grind and countless headaches of their daily practice.
Is Anxiety Ruling Your Life?
Anxiety is the most frequently occurring mental health disorder in the United States, according to the US Surgeon General. There are millions of people who are diagnosed with it every year.
Online Pharmacy Watch: DEA Does Spring Cleaning Of Illegal Internet Pharmacies
Since early 2004, it has become more apparent every day that the online pharmacy industry is being destroyed. Who is doing such damage to bring the industry crashing down, you ask? So far, the people responsible are savvy businessmen who are using their skills to create temporary safety nets for black-hat operations using loopholes in international security.
The Neurological Exam: Evaluating the Master Organ
How does a mind contemplate itself? That's a philosophical question I'll leave to minds smarter than mine, but what I can tell you is how to examine the brain and other parts of the nervous system.Most people are familiar with how doctors examine a heart or set of lungs.
You Are Getting Very Sleepy....The Truth about Hypnosis
A hypnotic "trance" is not something that is foreign to us--we've all been so absorbed in thought while reading a book or watching a movie that we fail to notice what is happening around us. These focused states of attention are similar to hypnosis.
195,000 Die Annually From Hospital Mistakes
It just seemed too absurd to be true, but there it was in the August 2, 2004 edition of Newsweek I picked up the other day: "According to HealthGrades, the health-care-rating organization that conducted the study, needless deaths averaged 195,000 a year in 2000, 2001, and 2002. 'That's the equivalent of 390 jumbo jets full of people dying each year,' says Dr.