Big Pharma to Charge 115,200 Dollars Per Patient Each Year for New Lung Cancer Drug
Pfizer plans on coming out with a new drug to treat a rare form of lung cancer. Four years ago, Pfizer was going to halt a cancer therapy until they discovered that it actually worked. The problem is that Pfizer’s “market” was only about 6000 patients a year in the U.S. Today that therapy is called Xalkori. Pfizer plans on charging each patient $115,200/year for the treatment, which is created only for a very rare lung cancer.
Drugs for Profit
It is known by many people that almost any disease or illness can be taken care of with a little care and awareness. Many of the drugs in dug stores are completely unnecessary and cause more problems than they solve. Squeezing $115,200 out of each patient each year for a drug treatment is criminal in my books. Not only is the cost ridiculous to say the least, but it is well known that drug treatment is nothing more than a money-making industry.
Pfizer became the world’s leading drug maker by sales thanks to their cholesterol reducing drug, Lipitor. At it’s peak, the drug reeled in $12 billion in annual revenue world-wide and had some 11.7 million patients in the U.S. alone. Pfizer also has had 10,000+ lawsuits against them by individuals or class action lawsuits. What’s more, they had to pay $4 billion in fines and judgements as a result of criminal or civil litigation. Unfortunately, big pharma plays such a large role in the U.S. healthcare system that most drug companies are given a “get out of jail” free card when it comes to screw ups. Although the drug companies would argue against being given a free pass, the amount of pay they put out in fines for criminal activity compared to what they bring in says otherwise.
Why bother feeding the drug companies, especially for treatments that cause endless problems. The drug MAY treat something, but it not only causes other unknown health problems, it also causes noticeable problems you need yet another drug for. Most health issues can be taken care of naturally with a little research. Even placebos and hypnosis are better options than supporting and partaking in big pharma’s industry.
You can view the full story at The Wall Street Journal.
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