In 1994 the phrase Big Pharma was invented
Big Pharma has gotten much much bigger in 20 years
Fortune 500 company profits in 2002
10 Pharmaceutical companies combined made more than the other 490 companies
$35.9 billion vs $35.7 billion
Apparently first mentioned in the book The 100 year Lie
Return on investment for Obamacare lobbying by Big Pharma = $44 profit for every $1 spent
Spent $290 million in lobbying for Obamacare
Expected to increase in Big Pharma profit of $13 billion over a decade
See also Vitamin D Life
- Vitamin D Life pages containing FDA in title (32 as of Sept 2021)
- Off Topic: Pharma Funded 2,400 State Lawmakers' Campaigns in 2020 - July 2021
- Off Topic: FDA advisors have many conflicts of interest
- Off topic: Oncologists paid 350 dollars per patient-month to use less effective and more toxic cancer drugs – Oct 2014
- Off Topic- 100,000 deaths due to prescriptions, 0 due to supplements: Conclusion -Let's regulate supplements
- Cost of US health exceeds the cost of food
- Hepatitis C drug is extremely expensive, why not try Calcidiol (semi-processed vitamin D) - May 2014
- Vitamin D proven to provide better results at perhaps 1/10,000 the price
See also web
- Big Pharma: How the World's Biggest Drug Companies Control Illness - 2006 book
- Pharmaceutical industry WikiPedia
Outside of the US new drugs must be shown to be cost effective.
US drugs need only be better than a placebo drug (does not have to show that it is better than a supplement)
Global spending on prescription drugs topped $954 billion (2011)
The top ten best-selling drugs of 2013 totaled $75.6 billion in sales - Big buck, big pharma 2006 video - free
- Why Drugs Cost So Much NYT Jan 2014
Laws force US insurance companies to pay for drugs, no matter how expensive or little benefit
US laws should change to that of Europe - where they get 97% of thedrugs and 1/2 the price
Vitamin D Life is worried that Extremely Big Pharma will soon consider Vitamin D or Vitamin D Life to be an enemy to their making profits
Doctors are still given extremly little nutrition& supplement instruction
60% of med schools suveyed said in 2006 that they teach less than 25 hours of Nutrition and Life-Style
Note: in 1985 25 hours was the recommended minimum - 60% not even achieving the minimum!
Ref: Adams, Kelly et al. 2006. Status of nutrition education in medical schools. American Society for Clinical Nutrition.
"Extremely Big Pharma" was not found by Google Search - this appears to be the first use of the phrase.
The goal of the Big Pharma is to indefinitely "manage" disease
curing a disease would destroy the market (Talk about a perverse incentive structure).
The prime directive of any individual or institution is self-preservation
Big Pharma has made it illegal to claim that a supplement can treat a disease FDA Website
". . a product sold as a dietary supplement and promoted on its label or in labeling* as a treatment, prevention or cure for a specific disease or condition would be considered an unapproved- - and thus illegal - drug"
Number of existing drugs which have increased in cost by 2X in a year
Big Pharma's Favorite Prescription: Higher Prices Bloomberg May 2014
Revenue of just 2 of Extremely Big Pharma companies = Revenue of all Illegal drugs in US
Illegal drug revenue: US annual $10 Billion RAND
Big Pharma Revenue Wikipedia
Deaths due to Big Pharma exceed that from illegal drugs
Drug-Induced Deaths 40,000, Illicit Drugs 17,000
Emergency Room visits due to Big Pharma = 3X of Illicit drugs
1,400,000 Emergency Room visits were related to pharmaceuticals. CDC 2011
440,000 Illicit drugs
400% increase in price of generic medications in US in one year (1200 drugs)
Soaring Prices Of Generic Drugs, Authorities Warned Nov 2014
Examples from US Congressional study
- Two tablets of Albuterol Sulfate (asthma) $11. ==> $434.
- Bottle Doxycycline Hyclate (antibiotic) $20 ==> $1,849.
- Chairman of committee: "Drug companies have seen the chance to make a ton of cash and they are seizing that opportunity. This is gluttony at work in the pharmaceutical business”.
Congress considering buying drugs from Canada NYT Nov 24, 2014
| Drug | Generic US | Branded Canada |
| digoxin 90 day supply | $187 | $24 |
| IBD | $1,625 | $156 |
| pravastatin (Cholesterol) 3 month | $230 | $32 |
- "The idea of allowing Americans to import drugs from Canada or other developed countries is strongly opposed by the powerful United States pharmaceutical industry"
- "Last fall, a new law in Maine began allowing residents to mail order prescription medicines from licensed pharmacies in Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand"
Observation by Vitamin D Life
US laws changed recently - Each drug company no longer has any competition and no longer has to justify their prices.
The US law states, for example, that Medicare is not allowed to look for a lower price for a drug inside nor outside of the US.
Doubt that the international price of durgs went up by even 20% during that same time period.
760X return on investment for lobbying congress Propublica Dec 2014
Automotive, McDonalds, Banks got far bigger return on lobbying investment than did BigPharma