title: Pricing, profits and pharmacoeconomics--for whose benefit?
abstract: In today's troubled healthcare climate, it is not uncommon to run across headlines like: 'Health insurance premiums increasing by 10 percent to 30 percent across the country.' This particular New York Times article went on to explain that this premium price hike, the third consecutive double digit increase in 3 years, is driven largely by escalating pharmaceutical costs. The pharmaceutical industry has largely been vilified in the media and in the recent presidential debates, for fueling healthcare inflation and setting what many perceive to be 'unfair' prices in light of the profit margins on their life-saving products. A report released by the Congressional Research Service found that after tax, profits for the pharmaceutical industry averaged 17% of sales, compared with 5% for all other industries. The White House has added its voice to the popular discontent with notices such as this one reported in the New York Times: 'There is a rising tide politically in this country of strong antagonism against the pharmaceutical industry on the dimension of prices. (Without expanded access to insurance) price controls are an inevitable outcome.' Although the prospect of price control remains dubious in America's entrenched laissez-faire economy, David Kessler, former head of the FDA and the Dean of the Yale School of Medicine, described the situation as a 'powder keg,' stating 'the current system is simply not sustainable'. Although there does not appear to be an immediate solution to this escalating crisis, this editorial will examine pharmaceutical pricing, industry profits and the role of pharmacoeconomic analyses amidst the chaos.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Bennett
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D016527:Drug Costs; D017850:Economics, Pharmaceutical