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Source: CANNABIS CULTURE MAGAZINE On July 22, 2003, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for channel 7 News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo . . . three thousand percent! BIG RIP-OFF: The Cost of Prescription Drugs* Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries. In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America. The chart below speaks for itself.
This is shocking, but it is not the entire picture. Pharmaceutical companies have to cover the large research and development costs of creating the drugs, as well as the overhead costs of manufacturing, marketing, and shipping them; retail pharmacies have to cover the overhead costs of store operations (including the salaries of pharmacists); and both groups have to make a profit from their sales. The question is where does the intersection of morality and profits meet? |
