Big pharma

They’re not a threat in the sense that they will actively try to kill you: since dead customers
are bad for business

But they will sure as hell price-gouge you, and even do their level best not to cure “profitable” diseases

Pharma’s ideal customer is someone who is barely-alive

Take pills only if you have to

I think your inability to upvote a meme you agree with is a real threat. ;)

3r73jj.gif (click to show)

Gah I actually remembered to upvote your comments this time but forgot the meme itself

It's crazy there's no regulation especially on the cost of prescription meds and the way they price gouge a med once it proves effective.

True.
They don't want healthy people practicing prevention.
They want people to pay & pay for treatment after they're sick.

Not a threat, but it's a money printing business. Some medicines, like nuclear medicine I can understand high prices, but I've seen so many name brand drugs go from insane expensive to pennies per tablet over the years as they went the generic route. I remember when chronic acid reflux was crippling, and all there was to remedy it was tums. Then they came out with zantac and pepcid, and then prilosec, and nexium. They were all expensive at first. Now I can get a bottle of store brand for less than a copay costs. New meds come out, they gouge the market, then it goes down over a few years time. When you're messing with people's health, price caps should be set. I'm a good old fashioned capitalist, but theres making money (fairly) and then theres taking advantage of the consumer base for ridiculous profit.

Before I voice my opinion on this, I want to make 100% sure that I interpreted the term "big pharma" well. I never heard the term before... Remember that English is NOT my first language, so I wanna make sure I don't say anything stupid because of misinterpreting the term because of something trivial like that :)

(Based on the comments posted, I think I go my own interpretation right, but I wanna be sure) ;)

I would love to hear your take.

Wiki sums it up: "Big Pharma Conspiracy Theory are conspiracy theories which claim that the medical establishment in general and pharmaceutical companies in particular, especially the large ones, operate for sinister purposes and against the public good"

Is this what you understand?

Yeah, I guess it's a about the big medicine manufacturing companies, right?

I do not want to deem that is the root of evil, but it is clear that a conflict of interest is more and more making them move for the wrong direction. In the end pharmaceutical companies are commercial companies, and thus exist for the primary purpose of making money which has to make their shareholders happy. And this also being their primary aim is getting more and more obvious. This often leads to decisions in which the patient is not #1. A big company did already removed medicine A, as it was not commercially beneficial and although medicine B exists for the same purpose, you cannot always switch so easily, and yeah, so people were threatened to die by this decision, and taken in mind that the patent was still on that and they could by law ban production of medicine A, then you are really walking the path of evil in my point of view.

Also some terribly expensive medicines are never properly motivated and especially when there are patents at work they can hide themselves behind the excuse of that any exposure of costs risks comercial spying, which is bullshit when you consider that in other branches spying is a serious issue, but where prices are just shown and properly motivated. Monopoly abuse is tempting and since people's lives are on the line you can easily blackmail countries with, pay our price, or their deaths are on your hands, which no government can justify to their voters... Then we do have an issue.

I would prefer if development of new medicines in particular would be banned for commercial companies, and should be done by non-profit organizations in stead. Commercial companies later on selling the medications, but also making sure there's never ONE, but multiple companies doing so so there's competition (which can prevent price abuse) would be a good idea. In the Netherlands were by law everyone MUST have a health insurance, we also often see that insurance companies do blackmail doctors and hospitals to do their bidding or they will never pay them again, meaning patients are forced to pick a different doctor/hospital. When it comes to medication and what they cover and what not, it's also clear commercial interest and power play a role.

The system the way it is, leaves to many openings to legally abuse your position in the medical world, and these openings are always too tempting to ignore, especially when you got shareholders to satisfy.