What is Big Pharma?
We have all heard of those crazy Big Pharma conspiracy theory, that the large scaled pharmaceutical business operates for sinister purposes and against the public good. Although I don’t know for sure if Big Pharma is evil, they definitely are a form of an oligopoly.
Big Pharma is a nickname given for the pharmaceutical industry in the United States that makes billions of dollars every day and is responsible for the development, manufacturing, and marketing of drugs for use as medications. The reason this is such an oligopoly is because of the high prices driven up by the 6 major companies able to push their drugs onto the market.
Just like we learned in class, because of the large amounts of money these companies make, the marketing that is done is what really sets these companies apart from each other. Advertising is key for these drug companies, they even spend 19 times more on marketing than they do on research and development. In 2014, spending on advertising was worth $4.53 billion, out of all the individual companies in the industry, Pfizer (a pharmaceutical company) spent $1.4 billion on advertising alone. Although this might seem excessive, for every $1 spent on a commercial, billboard, radio, or print ad, brings over $4 in retail sales for drug companies. The reason this is a successful tactic is that patients sometimes demand to be given the drugs they've seen in commercials (or heard about from their friends and family members), but also because some doctors receive handsome bonuses for promoting medications from certain manufacturers.
https://deserthopetreatment.com/big-pharma/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Pharma_conspiracy_theoryhttps://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-oligopoly-problem
I feel like at this point, many drugs would be under a monopoly rather than an oligopoly. Although big pharmaceutical companies function alongside one another, many of them have specialized drugs that only they have access to due to patents. The patented drugs are then only sold by the one company who is then able to price the drug however they want. I believe that even though they may be using some of this money for research and development of new drugs, companies still should not be price spiking drugs simply because they can. Prior limitations on patent rights and related monopolies should be looked at again to prevent major pharmaceutical companies from having free rein over their individual drug prices.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://openmarketsinstitute.org/explainer/high-drug-prices-and-monopoly/
I agree. This is especially important since some of these drugs are vital for life, insulin for example. This is extremely troubling for the people who are forced to pay absurd prices to big pharma when there is no real reason for the prices to be so high.. Monopolization of life-or-death drugs, or any drug, should not be allowed. Profit on the backs of the desperate is a shameful thing to do.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.vox.com/2019/4/3/18293950/why-is-insulin-so-expensive
Adding on to what Oz said about the prices of drugs that are essential for life and death situations, this often leads to actions that people would not defer to otherwise. For example, with insulin prices being so high, people will often get it on the black market instead, undermining the big pharma companies. This also leads to greater incarceration rates because of desperate people and their desperate actions. With people in prison, they receive healthcare, but in the end, does that help or hurt the big pharmas?
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