Personal Response for" The Other Drug War".
After watching the video "The Other Drug War", I was deeply surprised by "The Other Drug War" debate. I never noticed the battle between the consumers and pharmaceutical companies before. Prescription drugs and medical services are extremely expensive in the United States, but I didn't know the true reasons behind it. Because of expensive drug prices, I bought a lot of drugs (including Vioxx) from China when I visited. In China, we don't need doctor's prescription to buy drugs. We can buy any drugs with lower price, because we have a price control system. United States has different medical system; here is a free market system. We have to pay high price for the drugs. After watching the Frontline video and researching, a couple of reasons behind the highest prescription drugs price are coming out. As Maine Senator Chellie Pingree said, "Drug industry was not any other business. This is something that keeps people alive." I think government and pharmaceutical companies both have responsibilities to reduce the prescription drugs price to an affordable price. .
I agree with the thoughts expressed by some of the speakers in the interview. Mr. Sidney Taurel, CEO of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, argues that they need a high profit margin to fund the research and development of new medicines and compensate for failed research. However, according to critics such as Mrs. Marcia Angell, a senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School, the pharmaceutical industry is profitable. Profits for the pharmaceutical industry remain above 18 percent while the rest of the fortune 500 companies seem to manage with 3 percent, while the rest of the economy is doing poorly. The net profits are higher than they spend on R&D. These profit margins maybe high, but Mr. Sidney Taurel thinks price control to reduce profit margin will lead to fewer new drugs in the future. Its true price control may stifle innovation, but there are other means to reduce drug price.
