A letter Gimpy sent to his Senator :

[MORTARDUDE]

Dear Senator Bob Graham,

I am a 100% permanently & totally disabled, combat-wounded Vietnam veteran that lives in Holiday, Florida with my wife of 35 years and would appreciate your response to some concerns I have listed below.

My wife currently has "CHAMP/ VA" insurance and when she must purchase prescription drugs from a retail pharmacy we are required to pay 25% of the retail cost of these drugs.

A recent article in the magazine "Military Order of the Purple Heart" shed some light on the disturbing facts that allow American drug companies to make outlandish profits on their products without so much as a condemnation from the FDA whose regulatory policy is apparently so flawed that they are either inadvertently (or maybe INTENTIONALLY) allowing and actually ENCOURAGING un-precedented price gouging.

The chart below shows examples of several drugs and the consumers price versus the manufactures cost and % markup.

DRUG NAME-- CONSUMER PRICE @ 100 TABS-- MANUFACTURE COSTS @ 100 TABS % MARKUP

Celebrex-100mg $130.27 $0.60 21,712 %

Claritin-10mg 215.17 0.71 30,306 %

Keflex-250mg 157.39 1.88 8,372 %

Lipitor-20mg 272.37 5.80 4,696 %

Norvasec-10mg 188.29 0.14 134,495 %

Paxil-20mg 220.27 7.60 2,898 %

Prevacid-30mg 44.70 1.01 34,136 %

Prilosec-20mg 360.97 0.52 69,417 %

Prozac-20mg 247.47 0.11 224,973 %

Zoloft-50mg 206.87 1.75 11,821 %

Xanax-1mg 136.79 0.024 569,958 %

These are only a slight few of the more frequently prescribed medications this survey mentioned. Some of which my wife and I both are being prescribed by the way. Additional research with other medications would in absolute probability produce the same conclusions with relation to consumers prices versus manufacturers costs and percentage markup.

I realize that a number of pharmaceutical houses (producers) conduct extensive research & development and should rightly receive eqitable compensation for their investments in these fields of R & D. However, there are drug manufacturers who DO NOT participate in these efforts of R & D and will wait for the patent to expire and produce generic counterparts and yet continue to charge astronomic, outrageously over-priced amounts for their product(s)?? Not to mention that even the drug manufacturers who DO participate in R&D efforts that keep the prices of their drugs at such outlandishly high levels to consumers that they are CONSTANTLY in the top 50 or so major companies with regards to 'PROFIT MARGINS" in the entire WORLD!

With the Presidents new "plan" for a drug benefit now to be included with Medicare that will have absolutely NO authorization to "negotiate" lower prices for drugs for eligible retirees and sick and disabled citizens, it appears these drug companies will continue to have "free reign" with this behavior they now so flagrantly push upon us.

I am requesting that you, Senator Graham, immediately begin an effort to see that the FDAs' antiquated, faulty and ineffective policys and procedures are reviewed, re-written and improved in order to establish pharmaceutical price controls through Congressional action, new FDA rules and regulations that will insure an oversight of a free and competitive market.

Thank you and best regards,

Steve Johnson

[reconeil]

EXCELLENT MESSAGE & WAKE-UP CALL and/or PUBLIC SERVICE/AWARENESS Notice!!!

Still, it's too bad that such societal worthiness is mixed-in with all the unworthiness over here on the: "Politics" Forum. Such grandeos Public Rip-offs should ALSO be on The "General" Forum, since politics and the nature of the beast only shifts blame for such from one group of theives to another.

Besides, Public Price-Gougers and/or Public Profiteers donate to and/or pay-off BOTH Parties, so as to keep their: "Golden Gooses" into infinity. So, why not have your very important letter wider read, and not solely mixed-in with the absurdities of inconsequential, meaningless and worthlessness of politics (naturally not so to politicos)?

Regardless Gimpy,...Thanks for The Great Public Service/Awareness Message. All Drug Heads and their permitting The Public Rip-off cohorts in government, desperately need reading such. Some mass jailings of greedy corporate heads and greedy government heads,...also couldn't hurt.

Neil

[SuperScout]

Before any of you run out and start gathering for the "tar-and-feather-party" you might do just a wee bit of digging and investigation about the article in question. Doing a sloppy bit of cutting-and pasting, the National Surgeon of the Military Order of the Purple Heart neglected to inform us that The Life Extension Foundation, source of the slam-job, also is an advocate of human cloning and other questionable ethical practices. What the good Surgeon failed to note in his little chart, slamming the pharmaceutical industry, is the "cost of the generic active ingredient" number, not just the "cost." What the good Surgeon failed to mention is that some of these drugs do not have a generic active ingredient, therefore his comparative analysis is fatally flawed. And what the good Surgeon failed to report is the cost to the pharmaceutical companies before being granted approval by the Federal Drug Administration to bring the drug to market. Industry averages are $110-$150 million dollars, and 7-10 years of wading through pharmaceutical protocols and bureaucratic red-tape before a product can be seen on the shelves of your local Wal-Mart. And for every drug that shows up there, 7-12 don't make the cut, and the pharmaceutical companies have to eat the enormous cost, without making a dime of profit.

In summary, the chart of the cost is bogus, since flawed data was used, the author of the chart and attending article has an evident bias against pharmceutical companies, and the organization he works for has questionable ethics. Kindly put away the crying towels, the tar and the feathers.

[reconeil]

That might be so. But, one must believe that most of the 100 to 150 million dollar research monies (plus some government grants) are made back in a year. Plus, no Drug Companies have to: "Eat the enormous costs, without making a dime profit". It's only The American Consumer that's forced doing that. Believe such called: "Pass alongs".

Besides, why are drugs from Canada and Mexico so much cheaper overall, and even those manufactured right here in America? Doesn't that seem more than a bit odd and strange? Sure seems like great concerted American Public Rip-off by The Drug Companies and their supportive of such politicos to me.

Hell,...if politicos don't put great sanctions on American Companies for actually eliminating millions of American Jobs for greed alone, by moving their operations overseas,...why should anyone think that such a greed collusion doesn't exist between The Drug Manufacturers and politicos?

That's basically why my suggestion for this thread ALSO being over on The "General" Forum,...since politics and politicians can rationalize even price-gouging and profiteering against the sick and infirmed. Sad,...but true.

Neil

[SuperScout]

Ever heard of government subsidizing? While Canada is still building her littel socialist house of cards, the bean counters haven't yet finished running the tape, and when they do, they'll discover, like every other socialist promise, it lacks substance. At several billion $$ per year, the Canadanian government is subsidizing their drug stores, and when they discover that the Pot of Gold, frequently referred to as the taxpayers' wallet, is dry, guess what will happen to the drug subsidies?

And BTW, where is the economic angst, hand-wringing, and dart throwing at some of the other components of our economy, like how much profit CBS, for example, is making? And who sets the correct formula of how much profit any corporation can make? Be careful what you ask for!!

[Gimpy]

this scurrilous piece of propagandizing for the so-called "compassionate-conservative" outlook for continuing to allow the Drug Industry to rape this nations sick, disabled and elderly. But my heart just would allow this crap to stand without a true and honest rebuttal.

It IS true that the "article" in question in this months MOPH magazine did NOT actually relate the TRUE costs of the way the information was presented. That DOES NOT however change the "facts" that are STILL TRUE as the information below will testify too!

Statement by Consumers Against High Drug Prices.
###

Americans pay outrageous prices for prescription medications because of a flawed and antiquated regulatory system.

Drug companies generate billions of dollars of profits every year. A portion of these profits are used to buy political influence at all levels of government. The result is a quasi-monopoly that protects drug company profits at the expense of the consumer.

The only way to stop the spiraling increase in prescription drug prices is for the citizenry to organize and petition Congress to amend the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

We propose to change the law in a way that creates a free market environment, where the price of medications would plummet to affordable levels.

Prescription drugs are overpriced because of bad laws. These laws can be changed if enough people contact their Congressional representatives. Our objective is to mobilize millions of American citizens into a cohesive army that will force Congress to change the law so that a free market can emerge to obliterate the high cost of prescription drugs.

It costs nothing to register with our organization. When proposed legislation is drafted, you will be informed and asked to contact your Congressional representative to support it. You can register with Consumers Against High Drug Prices by clicking here. If you do not have a computer, you can join our group by sending your name and address to:

Consumers Against High Drug Prices
P.O. Box 13166
Silver Spring, MD 29011-3166

The FDA and pharmaceutical giants hope that Americans will remain apathetic and allow the economic plunder to continue. Please stand up for your rights by enrolling in this program so that we can attempt to avert the looming health care cost crisis that is a threat to us all. Let others know about this web site so they too can join us.

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The Life Extension Foundation is a nonprofit organization, whose long-range goal is the radical extension of the healthy human lifespan. In seeking to control aging, our objective is develop methods to enable us to live in health, youth and vigor for unlimited periods of time. The Life Extension Foundation was officially incorporated in 1980, but the founders have been involved in antiaging research since the 1960's.

The Life Extension Foundation is the largest organization dedicated to investigating every method of extending the healthy human life span. When seeking methods to slow aging and prevent disease, The Foundation often uncovers potential therapies to treat the degenerative diseases of aging such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, cancer, stroke, macular degeneration, etc.

The Life Extension Foundation was incorporated in 1980, but its founders have been writing about and financially supporting anti-aging research since the 1960's. Here is a summary of the medical discoveries the Foundation has introduced over the last 24 years.

1980 Recommended antioxidants to prevent disease

1981 Identified specific homocysteine-lowering nutrients to prevent stroke and heart disease

1981 Unveiled DHEA as a disease-preventing therapy

1983 Recommended aspirin to prevent heart attacks

1983 Introduced coenzyme Q10 to the United States

1983 Warned that excess iron intake may cause cancer and heart disease

1985 Introduced lycopene to prevent cancer

1985 Recommended cimetidine as an adjuvant cancer therapy

1985 Recommended deprenyl as an anti-aging drug

1988 Made phosphatidylserine available to possibly slow brain aging

1991 Convinced FDA to approve lifesaving drugs more quickly

1992 Funded research with antioxidants and drugs to protect against the cell-damaging effects of brain ischemia

1992 Introduced melatonin, which may be used as a sleep aid, in disease prevention and may have anti-aging benefits

1995 Identified the first multi-drug formula in the world aimed at slowing the aging process

1996 Founded the first mail-order blood-testing laboratory that offered state-of-the-art medical testing to the public

1996 Unveiled 110 disease prevention and treatment protocols that integrated mainstream and alternative medicine

1997 Introduced SAMe to Americans as a safe and effective antidepressant used in Europe

1997 Introduced urtica dioica extract used in Germany to treat benign prostate enlargement

1997 Informed members of the dangers of taking only the "alpha" form of vitamin E

1997 Introduced a combination of COX-2 inhibitors and statin drugs that may inhibit cancer cell growth

1998 Alerted the health community that the FDA was suppressing a breast cancer therapy that was shown to reduce death rates by 75 percent in breast cancer patients

1998 Documented how high estrogen levels in men may be a primary cause of prostate disease

1998 Introduced methylcobalamin, a form of vitamin B12 that is used as a drug in Japan to treat neurological disorders

1999 Showed how vitamin C may prevent nitroglycerin drug intolerance in patients with coronary artery disease

1999 Presented evidence that FDA-approved estrogen drugs may not actually protect against heart disease

2000 Unveiled a European therapy (GastroPro) that may protect the liver against the hepatitis C, alleviate pancreatitis and ease drug-induced gastric toxicity

2000 Conducted the first carotid ultrasound tests on people taking high doses of antioxidants to demonstrate that they may protect against coronary artery disease

2000 Showed that COX-2 inhibiting drugs may increase cartilage-destroying cytokines leading to arthritis, and that natural therapies may counter this process

2000 A Foundation sponsored bill was passed that enables Americans to obtain lower-cost prescription drugs from other countries

2000 Fundedpath breaking research to preserve vital organs to increase successful transplants

2000 Introduced a combination therapy used in Europe to boost cognitive function and that may alleviate the symptoms of senility (Cognitex)

2000 Introduced a natural way of boosting superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in humans.

2000 Introduced members to revolutionary research to transform cloned stem cells into tissues to replace diseased ones

2001 Offered high-dose carnosine to members as a therapy that may prevent and reverse multiple molecular mechanisms linked to aging

2001 Funded research to identify genes linked to aging, versus those that act to extend life. This research is aimed at developing methods of genetic engineering to extend life

2001 Published methods of suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines that contribute to the development of multiple degenerative diseases

2001 Discovered a way to suppress excess serum insulin that is a cause of age-associated weight gain

2002 Documented that a large number of Americans are needlessly dying of anemia and provided definitive methods to guard against this disorder

2002 Introduced first topical eye drop to contain an anti-glycating agent

2002 Showed that doctors are overlooking thyroid hormone deficiency because of the improper interpretation of a common blood test

2002 Introduced methylselenocysteine, the form of selenium found naturally in garlic and broccoli that protects against mammary tumor development

2003 Introduced first therapeutic program to slow progression of Parkinson's disease

2003 Published research showing that topical and orally ingested antioxidants can prevent and reverse skin aging

2003 Introduced a plant extract to protect against DNA gene mutations and neutralize carcinogens

2003 Warned members that eating food cooked at high temperature could accelerate aging

2003 Showed that long-term use of certain cardiac drugs could double heart attack risk

2003 Discovered first drug (metformin) that could mimic some of the beneficial gene expression changes of caloric restriction, thereby offering humans the opportunity of adding many healthy decades to their life spans

The Shocking Truth Behind Prescription Drug Prices

Do you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company to obtain the active ingredient in a prescription medication? Life Extension did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA.

WHAT DRUGS REALLY COST
BRAND NAME CONSUMER PRICE
(For 100 tabs/caps) COST OF GENERIC ACTIVE INGREDIENT
(For 100 tabs/caps) PERCENT MARKUP
Celebrex 100 mg $130.27 $0.60 21,712%
Claritin 10 mg $215.17 $0.71 30,306%
Keflex 250 mg $157.39 $1.88 8,372%
Lipitor 20 mg $272.37 $5.80 4,696%
Norvasc 10 mg $188.29 $0.14 134,493%
Paxil 20 mg $220.27 $7.60 2,898%
Prevacid 30 mg $344.77 $1.01 34,136%
Prilosec 20 mg $360.97 $0.52 69,417%
Prozac 20 mg $247.47 $0.11 224,973%
Tenormin 50 mg $104.47 $0.13 80,362%
Vasotec 10 mg $102.37 $0.20 51,185%
Xanax 1mg $136.79 $0.024 569,958%
Zestril 20 mg $89.89 $3.20 2,809%
Zithromax 600mg $1,482.19 $18.78 7,892%
Zocor 40mg $350.27 $8.63 4,059%
Zoloft 50mg $206.87 $1.75 11,821%

A significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients that are actually synthesized in other countries.

Drug companies import these active ingredients into the United States where they wind up in the expensive drugs you buy at the local pharmacy. While the FDA says you cannot trust drugs from other countries, the facts are that most of the drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients synthesized in the very countries the FDA says you cannot trust.

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 above speaks for itself.

The astounding profit margin enjoyed by drug companies exposes several facts. First, it shows why the pharmaceutical industry is the most profitable of all businesses. But since large drug companies only make around 15% net profit margins, it also exposes the incredible cost drug companies bear to comply with today's burdensome drug approval system.* If the FDA relaxed its drug approval standards, the cost of bringing new patented drugs could be reduced.

These exorbitant profit margins also provide incentive for drug companies to get their patented molecules approved by the FDA, whether they kill people or not. Horror stories abound of how drug companies have egregiously falsified data to obtain FDA approval.**

Many consumers are nervous about the FDA becoming less stringent, but the facts are that today's regulatory system is allowing lethal drugs on the marketplace and also acting as a disincentive for drug companies to develop novel drugs to save lives.

Take the cholesterol-lowering drug Baychol, for example, which was removed from the market after killing 100 people.***

Baychol is a statin drug that works via a mechanism similar to that in Mevacor, Zocor, Lipitor, Pravachol, etc. Was there a need for tens of millions of dollars to be spent developing another statin drug? Drug companies think so, because the FDA readily recognizes statin drugs, so they are easy to get approved.
The problem is that no life was saved because of Baychol. Anyone who may have benefitted from Baychol could have obtained the same results from other statin drugs. So when drug companies justify the high price of drugs because of research costs, remember that most of the so-called novel compounds they develop will not save a single life, as they are no different than what is already available.

Now that you know the outrageous profit margins on prescription drugs, you can understand why drug companies do almost anything to prevent competition from developing. Large drug companies intensely lobby Congress to pass laws that give them extra time of exclusivity, file lawsuits to delay generic competition, petition the FDA to stop the importation of lower cost medications, and go as far as to pay off generic companies to not compete.

Drug companies spend big dollars protecting their illicit monopoly, all of which is reflected in the price consumers pay for their prescription drugs.

When Congressional leaders debate the prescription drug cost crisis, few of them understand the huge discrepancy that exists between the cost of the active drug ingredient compared to the price charged for the brand name or generic drug. For instance, consumers pay $360.00 for 100 capsules of the stomach-acid suppressing drug Prilosec. The cost of the active ingredient for 100 capsules of Prilosec, however, is only 52 cents. T here will soon be a generic version of Prilosec available, but because of FDA over-regulation, the cost per 100 capsules will probably be around $80.00. In a free market environment, where many companies could offer generic Prilosec products instead of the chosen few anointed by the FDA, a product whose active ingredient costs 52 cents (like Prilosec) would be available to consumers for under $7.00 a bottle.

A free market environment would eliminate the prescription drug cost crisis because the FDA would not be allowed to protect a monopoly that enables both brand name and generic companies to charge extortionist prices for lifesaving medications.

Let your voice be heard

Drug company lobbyists are inundating Congress to prevent any type of prescription drug importation bill from becoming law. Consumer groups are intimidated by the FDA's baseless assertions that imported drugs are somehow dangerous. The FDA has preyed on fear and uncertainty for decades, while American consumers are extorted into paying the highest prices in the world for their prescription drugs.

This is not just an issue for individuals to be concerned with. There are dire predictions of severe economic upheavals in the United States if a solution is not found for the high cost of prescription drugs. Some of the largest corporations in America cannot afford to fund health insurance benefits for current and retired employees. Health insurance companies are going bankrupt because of astronomical drug prices. Medicare itself is predicted to be insolvent as soon as 2007.

The United States has been economically deteriorating as prescription drug prices skyrocket. In order to counter the influence peddling of the pharmaceutical behemoths, American consumers must become politically active. Consumers vastly outnumber drug industry lobbyists. Regrettably, ignorance and apathy have silenced many Americans and enabled drug money to create laws that favor outlandish pharmaceutical company profits at the expense of the consumer.

###

And, I don't believe the amount of "profits" being made by CBS has a damn thing to do with sick and disabled, elderly folk having to "choose" between FOOD, HEATING BILLS, and MEDICATION because of the Drug Companies outrageous profit margins!

[SuperScout]

Let's see: I post something that's true, unlike Gimpy's bogus chart, which by his own admission was incorrect, and I get branded as presenting a "scurrilous piece of propagandizing"? What award does Gimpy get for posting a bogus chart, The King of Cut and Paste Award?

The Life Extension Foundation has done some wonderful work, but their accolades are primarily self-generated; and contrary to the implied message of presenting a "summary of the medical discoveries the Foundation has introduced over the last 24 years..." the Foundation did not discover all the wonderful findings that were reported, it simply introduced them from other sources, or reprinted them from other sources.

Drug prices, like gasoline prices, and every other commodity in our marketplace are the results of a compendium of forces, including but not limited to supply and demand, graft and corruption, governmental rules and regulations. These inter-related forces are made even more sinister the farther away from a pure market driven economy we steer; increase the level of burearacracy, and the level of corruption or waste and inefficiency increases proportionally. Our mixed economic model has produced mixed results, one only needs to reflect back on the disastrous results of "energy-crisis" of the 70's to remember how poorly price controls work. As Gimpy corrected pointed out, it is a flawed and antiquated regulatory system that is much to blame for the prices of medicines, and by correct extrapolation, the price of practically every other commodity in our marketplaces. Obviously, then, the solution is not more government control, but less.

[Gimpy]

my bogus chart. It was a chart that the Military Order of The Purple Heart published with some slight information inaccuracies that I CORRECTED in the subsequent post. The mistake made in this original post did NOT have an underlying negative effect on the "intent" of the TRUE message of the article.

As far as too much "regulation".

I don't think so.

It all started in 1980 with the Ronald Reagan presidency (or you prefer, with the stupid decision of Jimmy Carter to deregulate the airlines in 1978 and continued full blast by Ronnie). And this country has been going through a deregulatory "mania" ever since!

Supply-siders, free-marketeers, "movement conservatives", and a motley assortment of anti-government cranks and radicals from "militia leaders" to most Republican candidates for political office have been trying to persuade us, the American people, that the government can't do a damn thing right and that "free-markets" are the answer to absolutely EVERYTHING!

HORSEHOCKY!

There is a true "believerism" about the free-marketeers that is genuinely unsettling and disturbing to say the least! As though their "beliefs" in the free-market system are akin to a "cult" or a "religion" in which certain fundamental asumptions are NEVER questioned? However, all you have to do to believe their crap is.......COMPLETELY ignore history and experience!

Capitalism is a marvelous system for creating WEALTH!

On the other hand, unregulated capitalism creates hideous social and fundamental human injustices and promptly destroys itself with GREED.

A market place NEEDS rules.

From the very beginning, capitalism has required careful regulation. Even in medieval England there were as many as twenty or thirty laws governing just the balance scales alone, and whether or not you could put your thumb or any other finger on the scale for gosh sakes!

Most of what we've learned here in this country that is pertinent is...............that competition is good..............however, we NEED RULES BECAUSE PEOPLE CHEAT!

And, there are some natural "monopolies" (like the DRUG manufacturers) that need regulation or they end up in "cartels" that rip everybody off! Current affairs PROVE this!

Another recent "example" is the so-called energy "crisis".

To solve their underlying problems, the utility companies in the 1980s' and 1990s' joined with big corporations in a legislative proposals to force residential ratepayers to pay off their power plants and assets, so that those utility companies could then "compete" against other companies which did not invest in non-economic power plants.

The deregulation bills enacted in California, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, and other states include multi-billion dollar bailouts of the utilities for their bad investments in nuclear power. California utilities received about $17 billion, much of this sum coming from the backs of hardworking families to pay for their poor management. In Illinois, the utilities are receiving about $14 billion; in Texas, nearly $5 billion; in New Jersey, nearly $9 billion. Nationwide, the utility bailout could total over $200 billion, making it one of the largest bailouts in history. And this bailout money is coming straight out of ratepayers' pockets.

The energy industry promised that deregulation would bring competition and lower prices. But those promises have proved empty. Just the opposite has occurred.

No........I'm afraid to say that we need MORE "regulation" in the area of affordable drugs in this country NOT LESS!

[BLUEHAWK]

Gimpy -
I address this to you as a brother in arms...

Every drug, every law, every violation, every company, every one of the matters you posted (and most ones anyone else posts along similar lines), are the direct result (at least) these three simple factors:

- Gerrymandering
- Electoral College
- Closed Primaries


... for starters

[Gimpy]

think so.