The $800 million pill: The truth behind the cost of new drugs

Abstract

Does it really take the oft-quoted $800 million to make a new drug? Merrill Goozner would argue not — a more accurate figure might be about one-fifth that sum, although the range is considerable and all the estimates are dependent upon which particular economic theory one chooses to believe in. Whatever the reason, Goozner pillories the price of pills and places the blame squarely on the pharmaceutical industry, backing his case by presenting fascinating histories of the development of individual drugs by both Big Pharma and smaller biotechnology companies. Goozner’s central premise is that the industrial development of almost all drugs is heavily reliant on basic research funded by the taxpayer and conducted by scientists working for universities, nonprofit research centers, or the NIH. There’s no doubt that Goozner’s sympathies lie with the traditional academic. He views the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries rather less favorably, particularly in their marketing practices. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and was impressed by its thoroughness. Goozner writes well, has a command of his subject, and makes very few scientific errors. Hence it seems reasonable to assume that he also has his facts straight when covering the economic and political aspects of his subject — his specialties, but not mine.