With the headline above and the photo on the left, you would think that this post addresses cocaine-dealing scumbags. But, that's not the case. I'm attacking a different group of criminals -- the pharmaceutical industry.There was an interesting story in Friday's USA Today, in which reporter Julie Appleby takes the pharmaceutical industry to task for unbelievably high increases in the cost of medicinal drugs.
In her article, Julie points out that Questcor Pharmaceuticals raised the wholesale price of a medicine that treats spasms in babies from $1,650/vial to more than $23,000, and that another company, Ovation, jacked up the price of a tumor treating drug called Cosmegen from $16.79 to $593.75.
Meanwhile, Abbot Laboratories continues fighting litigation for jacking up the price of its patented AIDS drug Norvir by 400 percent in 2003. Norvir is part of a cocktail treatment, i.e. it is used with other drugs in order to be effective. The health of AIDS victims came as an afterthought to Abbott, which wanted to dominate the AIDS drug market with another alternative treatment they had -- by raising the price of Norvir, the price of the cocktail skyrocketed, leaving the door open for patients to ask for the cheaper alternative.
While Barack Obama talks about hitting the oil industry with a windfall profit tax (good idea, by the way), the candidates have to go after the pharmaceutical industry as well. They have been put to the back burner as oil has taken center stage, but the impact high costs of medicinal drugs is having on the economy is even more dramatic. Much of the price increases are covered by insurance, which has led to higher insurance rates for all Americans, and now many of them are opting out of buying insurance because it's too expensive. It' a downward spiral that will continue until someone has the balls to stick up to these criminals.
I hope you execs at Abbott, Ovation and Questcor enjoy your riches now, because your money will be worthless in hell.
RoadRage
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