Why do drugs cost so much?

I think the true answer lies with the pharmaceutical companies. Why are drugs so expensive? I hope by now, those who work in this industry know that the majority of pharmaceuticals' spending goes to advertising and marketing, NOT to research and development. There is absolutely no reason for an eye drop Rx to be $90. There is no reason to take (essentially) 2 OTC meds and combine them to "patent" a new drug. I won't name names...Vimovo...but I think the FDA needs a serious overhaul in operations and procedure. Our US Patent Office needs a review as well. Did you know that in 2002, Bristol-Myers Squibb received a new patent on their drug, Platinol, just because they put it in a brown bottle? They claimed the brown bottle protected it from light and thus preserved the drug longer. Please tell me I'm not alone in feeling that this was a stupid move on the FDA and the USPTO offices. You can have a patent on a drug and you can have a patent on a brown bottle. But just because that drug is IN that brown bottle, should not grant that drug longer exclusivity. If this is allowed, I'll go throw some Zyvoxx in a black bottle and call it "new".

We can't answer the question, "Why is it so expensive?" by saying things like, "It's your insurance" or "Because the pharmaceutical companies have to recoup their loss on R&D". Our country is the ONLY COUNTRY that has no restriction on prescription drug pricing. Prescription drugs cost Americans 4 TIMES that of any other country. Now, I know this is a capitalist economy and you're allowed to make what you can and charge whatever you want (as long as you don't have a monopoly). But the drug companies DO have a monopoly. Drug prices rise 3 times the national inflation rate every year. The top 12 US pharmaceutical companies had a combined revenue of $253.7 billion dollars reported for 2010. $65 billion was profit alone. According to CNN, aside from network and communication, and internet services, pharmaceuticals is the largest grossing industry in the world. It makes more money than oil, healthcare facilities and national defense COMBINED.

There is only one way to stop this insanity and it is through Congress. Unfortunately, drug companies in America have over 700 lobbyists who do nothing but wine and dine the Representatives and Senators. It's a tough struggle but it's already begun. Contacting your Congressmen and probing them about the situation can, and will, work.