Extremely Big Pharma - many studies

In 1994 the phrase Big Pharma was invented

Big Pharma has gotten much much BIGger since then

---

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

---

13+ Vitamin D Life pages have BIG PHARMA in the title

This list is automatically updated

{LIST()}

---

See also Vitamin D Life

• FDA - many studies 49 as of March 2024

• 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 has been 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

  Doctors are still given extremely little nutrition & supplement instruction

60% of med schools surveyed 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.    Update 2024 - ZERO hours on nutrition in many medical colleges **"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](http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/QADietarySupplements/ucm191930.htm#legal_market) 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](http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR534.html) RAND[Big Pharma Revenue](http://www.wikiwand.com/en/List_of_pharmaceutical_companies) Wikipedia

---

Deaths due to Big Pharma exceed that from illegal drugs

[Drug-Induced Deaths **40,000** , Illicit Drugs **17,000** ](http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Causes_of_Death#sthash.n2DMrlWv.dpbs)

---

Emergency Room visits due to Big Pharma = 3X of Illicit drugs

[ **1,400,000** Emergency Room visits were related to pharmaceuticals.](http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/overdose/facts.html) CDC 2011[ **440,000** Illicit drugs](http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/drug-related-hospital-emergency-room-visits)

---

400% increase in price of generic medications in US in one year (1200 drugs)

[Soaring Prices Of Generic Drugs, Authorities Warned](http://www.frontlinedesk.com/201411750-soaring-prices-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 drugs 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