Throwaway Thursday – Big Pharma and Why Your Stitches Cost $1,500

02 Jun in Capitalism [1], Healthcare [2], Throwaway Thursday [3]

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Image by TheDarkThing [4] via Flickr

Nearly a decade ago, no lesser Capitalist than President Bill Clinton chastised the pharmaceutical industry for gross profiteering at the expense of our children by highlighting an economic sector that spends $1 billon more on advertising and lobbying [5] than R&D. Well as it turns out, those outrageous R&D expenses big Pharma are always whining about may be exaggerated by as much as 600% [6].
Such exaggerated costs are one of the reasons drug companies assert the need for monopolies and threaten to stop making their miracle cures if the public does not help those poor souls recoup from their altruistic endeavours. In the process, a drug that used to be $10 per shot will now bleed patients for $1500 [7] – nearly all of which is pure profit – all in the name of quality control.
After years of stacking the FDA which sympathetic cronies, Big Pharma is now claiming that the FDA approval process is so flawless that they should be indemnified against any lawsuits stemming from their wrongdoing [8], garnering government support in at least one [8] state. But don’t worry, the federal government is sure to bestow fabulous cash and prizes upon any flipper babies.
But finally, no matter how bad it is in the good old you-ess-of-aye, at least we're not as bad as those hippies and communists in the rest of the ‘developed’ world. And I’ve got the infograhic [9] to prove it!

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Links:
[1] http://thehindsightfactor.com/category/blog-posts/capitalism
[2] http://thehindsightfactor.com/category/blog-posts/healthcare
[3] http://thehindsightfactor.com/category/blog-posts/throwaway-thursday
[4] http://www.flickr.com/photos/55098830@N04/5145254980
[5] http://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/13/us/president-assails-shocking-prices-of-drug-industry.html
[6] http://www.boingboing.net/2011/03/21/does-the-pharmaceuti.html
[7] http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WomensHealth/price-preventing-premature-births-skyrockets-drug/story?id=13104588
[8] http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/d57fafb335674eb99a59ddc76a3386cf/NC-XGR--Drugmakers-Liability/
[9] http://www.businesspundit.com/us-healthcare-vs-the-rest-of-the-world/
[10] http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/191611/detail/
[11] http://alltop.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=rss&_t=rss&pc=w_gers13
[12] http://lifelieswaiting.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/dr-oz-segment-critical-of-big-pharma-yanked-off-shows-site-within-24-hours-of-being-aired/
[13] http://tipggita32.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/fda-approved-big-pharma-drugs-without-effectiveness-data/
[14] http://www.walletpop.com/2011/05/05/big-pharma-deals-to-preserve-high-drug-prices-skyrocketed-in-f/
[15] http://www.zemanta.com/
[16] http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fthehindsightfactor.com%2Fthrowaway-thursday-%25E2%2580%2593-big-pharma-and-why-your-stitches-cost-1500&linkname=Throwaway%20Thursday%20%E2%80%93%20Big%20Pharma%20and%20Why%20Your%20Stitches%20Cost%20%241%2C500