Big Pharma

Recently, as pharmaceutical companies engaged in another of their periodic benders of merger-mania, I spoke to a group of students at Scripps College in Claremont. The students were in exactly the demographic the industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to woo with drugs for attention-deficit disorder, depression and bipolar illness. And they weren't happy. The students' beef with Big Pharma is simple. The drugs don't work that well, or, if they do, only for a short while.

Every time I come across a big-number statistic about the size or significance of some industrial activity, my nose wrinkles. You know the figures I mean: The porn business takes in $10 billion to $14 billion a year. California's marijuana harvest is worth $14 billion a year, making it the state's biggest cash crop . NCAA March Madness costs employers $1.8 billion in lost productivity . Figures like these have several things in common: They're eye-catchingly big, they're unverifiable by empirical means and they reek of fakery.

Big Pharma got bigger on Monday with Merck Co.'s announcement that it would acquire rival Schering-Plough Corp. in a cash-and-stock transaction worth $41.1 billion. And the deal is being made easier by U.S. taxpayers. Faced with tough competition from generics, fewer potential blockbuster drugs in development and the prospect of a government overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, drug makers are consolidating. In January, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer Inc.

Just when Barack Obama thought his toughest decisions were behind him -- his Afghanistan strategy, tackling unemployment, what to say to Tiger Woods if he calls -- now he has to draw up a Christmas gift list. What will the current "decider" decide to give this holiday season . . . to both the naughty and the nice? THE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY: The new healthcare bill (the gift that keeps on giving). BIG PHARMA: Same as above, with unlimited refills. SENATE REPUBLICANS: Membership in the Whine-of-the-Month Club.

Every time I come across a big-number statistic about the size or significance of some industrial activity, my nose wrinkles. You know the figures I mean: The porn business takes in $10 billion to $14 billion a year. California's marijuana harvest is worth $14 billion a year, making it the state's biggest cash crop . NCAA March Madness costs employers $1.8 billion in lost productivity . Figures like these have several things in common: They're eye-catchingly big, they're unverifiable by empirical means and they reek of fakery.

Re "Big Pharma's Dirty Little Secret," Commentary, Dec. 26: Rather than worrying about how to pay for all these expensive new drugs from big pharma, it is time society asked how much of this is necessary or even useful. There are a few real "wonder drugs" that save lives and maintain health, but most new brand-name drugs are very expensive replacements for perfectly adequate generic (off-patent) drugs that could be used just as well (and sometimes better) to treat self-limited or patient-induced conditions.

The outrageous cost of prescription drugs and super profits of Big Pharma are seen as obstacles to providing adequate healthcare to millions of Americans. ("China scrutinized in blood thinner problems," Feb. 14.) The solution of importing drugs from countries that charge lower prices is ruled out for safety reasons. Fair enough; better to be cured than sorry. Now we learn that the corporations charging outrageous costs and making major profits import ingredients from abroad -- presumably because they are cheaper -- that kill and injure patients.

Re "A new front on heart disease," Nov. 10 I am not impressed with the results of the study of the statin drug rosuvastatin (Crestor) presented at the recent meeting of the American Heart Assn. The only significant statistic to consider in this study is the "absolute risk reduction," which was only 1.2%: 120 people would have to take the drugs for two years to prevent one heart attack, stroke or death. A proven treatment plan that would reduce the risk and possibly prevent or reverse cardiovascular diseases consists of a whole-foods, plant-based diet with minimal or no animal or dairy products, maintaining normal weight and moderate exercise, such as walking 30 minutes daily.

Just when Barack Obama thought his toughest decisions were behind him -- his Afghanistan strategy, tackling unemployment, what to say to Tiger Woods if he calls -- now he has to draw up a Christmas gift list. What will the current "decider" decide to give this holiday season . . . to both the naughty and the nice? THE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY: The new healthcare bill (the gift that keeps on giving). BIG PHARMA: Same as above, with unlimited refills. SENATE REPUBLICANS: Membership in the Whine-of-the-Month Club.

LAST WEEK, stock market analysts parsed the latest sales reports from the nation's biggest drug companies in search of why profits in the normally high-performing industry have plummeted. Good luck finding anything new. Pharma chief executives offer up only the usual culprits: generic competition, overzealous regulators, trial lawyers, bad public relations and the high cost of discovering new drugs.

One of the great frustrations of the libertarian-minded right is how Republicans got stuck being "the party of big business." The quotation marks around the term are at least somewhat necessary because, in many respects, it's not true. The notion that big business is "right wing" has always been more sloppy agitprop than serious analysis. It's true that historically, big business is against socialism and communism -- and understandably so. Socialism and communism were once close to synonymous with expropriation of wealth and the nationalization of industry.

With the pharmaceutical companies at the bargaining table on healthcare reform, and Congress considering new restrictions on drug advertising, it may pay to bone up on some facts about the industry with the following quiz: 1. What percentage of Americans over the age of 65 take at least one prescription drug on a daily basis? a. 20% b. 40% c. 60% d. 75% 2. In 2005, what percentage of all continuing medical education for physicians was paid for by Pharma?

Re "Debate heats up over public healthcare," May 10 As a fourth-year medical student set to become a family physician in June, I am quite upset to hear President Obama lauding the various corporate players in his health reform game over their "concession" that would save us "trillions" over the next few years. Clearly, their gift is a last-ditch effort to preserve their own bottom lines and has nothing to do with working toward reform. We need real reform, not public relations stunts.

Recently, as pharmaceutical companies engaged in another of their periodic benders of merger-mania, I spoke to a group of students at Scripps College in Claremont. The students were in exactly the demographic the industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to woo with drugs for attention-deficit disorder, depression and bipolar illness. And they weren't happy. The students' beef with Big Pharma is simple. The drugs don't work that well, or, if they do, only for a short while.

Big Pharma got bigger on Monday with Merck Co.'s announcement that it would acquire rival Schering-Plough Corp. in a cash-and-stock transaction worth $41.1 billion. And the deal is being made easier by U.S. taxpayers. Faced with tough competition from generics, fewer potential blockbuster drugs in development and the prospect of a government overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, drug makers are consolidating. In January, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer Inc.

Re "A new front on heart disease," Nov. 10 I am not impressed with the results of the study of the statin drug rosuvastatin (Crestor) presented at the recent meeting of the American Heart Assn. The only significant statistic to consider in this study is the "absolute risk reduction," which was only 1.2%: 120 people would have to take the drugs for two years to prevent one heart attack, stroke or death. A proven treatment plan that would reduce the risk and possibly prevent or reverse cardiovascular diseases consists of a whole-foods, plant-based diet with minimal or no animal or dairy products, maintaining normal weight and moderate exercise, such as walking 30 minutes daily.

A couple of years ago an ad appeared on U.S. television during the Academy Awards, urging viewers to have their cholesterol levels tested regularly in the fight against heart disease. It seemed like a praiseworthy public health campaign. A group called the Boomer Coalition, fronted by Henry "the Fonz" Winkler, urged his fellow baby boomers to take action against "the most talked-about disease."

Re "Debate heats up over public healthcare," May 10 As a fourth-year medical student set to become a family physician in June, I am quite upset to hear President Obama lauding the various corporate players in his health reform game over their "concession" that would save us "trillions" over the next few years. Clearly, their gift is a last-ditch effort to preserve their own bottom lines and has nothing to do with working toward reform. We need real reform, not public relations stunts.

The outrageous cost of prescription drugs and super profits of Big Pharma are seen as obstacles to providing adequate healthcare to millions of Americans. ("China scrutinized in blood thinner problems," Feb. 14.) The solution of importing drugs from countries that charge lower prices is ruled out for safety reasons. Fair enough; better to be cured than sorry. Now we learn that the corporations charging outrageous costs and making major profits import ingredients from abroad -- presumably because they are cheaper -- that kill and injure patients.

A couple of years ago an ad appeared on U.S. television during the Academy Awards, urging viewers to have their cholesterol levels tested regularly in the fight against heart disease. It seemed like a praiseworthy public health campaign. A group called the Boomer Coalition, fronted by Henry "the Fonz" Winkler, urged his fellow baby boomers to take action against "the most talked-about disease."