Reply to post: @skelband

@skelband

Really, ONLY the drug companies in the US are being extortionate? Not ALL of them, everywhere?

You need to get out more, become less of a "victim" and try to stop blaming the US for all your problems. I'm sure there are PLENTY of cases where European drug companies are being "extortionate" to someone.

Unfortunately it's what corporations do, extract money from people, in order to pay for a product that the corporation manufactures. Some more so than others.

You also need to understand that developing a new drug or manufacturing one that only has limited usage both incur significant costs that may SEEM extortionate to the common man.

As an example of the bad side of drug manufactures, Turing Pharmaceutical, who bought the patents for the 60 year old anti toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim; raised the price by 5000%. They "say" the reason is due to the low sales numbers. Turing is being ridiculously callous and probably criminal in this case and the drug SHOULD have become a generic at greatly reduced cost.

I myself take a new drug called Otezla for Psoriatic Arthritis that only Celgene manufactures. I have a very good insurance plan but it doesn't pay well for this new drug. It has almost completely cured the Psoriasis, something no other drug or cream has ever done for me in over 10 years.

HOWEVER (as an example of the good manufacturers) Celgene has an extremely generous copay program that completely pays my out of pocket expenses (My copay would be $975 per monthly prescription refill otherwise). Otherwise I would still be suffering with plaques on my elbows and knees a half inch thick that crack and bleed and have itching like a permanent case of poison ivy over half my body as I could not afford this drug.

I'm sure other El Reg readers have similar stories. Not ALL companies are bad, not all are good.

The issue is that there is no method to assure that the drug companies R&D efforts get paid for so that later production (and the people who need the drug) is not still paying for it.

Public R&D funding often finds good money thrown after bad as in the "Global Whining" fiasco because the "Public" is very subjective and prone to popularity contests rather than an examination of need and the hard facts behind it.