...Generic Prescription Drug Costs Prescription drugs have been causing problems in the United States for a very long time. Pharmaceutical companies are one of the largest profiting global industries. It was in 2009 when drug shortages increased with numbers reaching what many have termed crisis level which raised all prices of generic prescription drugs significantly (Fox, Sweet, & Jensen, 2014). This increase was and still is leaving patients with a life threatening decision; either go on paying for their prescriptions which they cannot afford or stop their treatment all together and risk their illness progressing and leading to possible death. Some have chosen to end their treatment altogether, while other patients have confessed to taking dangerous measures to ensure their refills last longer like cutting their pills in half or skipping doses. The United States drug manufacturers are raising prices endlessly without regulation. Instead of generic brand medication being affordable, they are creating their own monopolies and setting their prices just as competitively as name brands. Instead of buying and stocking manufacturers with raw materials from within the United States, they source raw materials from overseas creating delays and a huge shortage in raw materials has surfaced. Instead of keeping the FDA in the loop as to what is going on in the production process, manufacturers wait until the very last minute to report a problem which goes against all rules, regulations...
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...For decades, pharmaceutical companies have been able to develop the necessary drugs humans need to take care of health problems. Whether it’s heart problems, diabetes, painkillers, sleep disorder, there’s an innumerable amount of drugs to treat practically any kind of medical condition. These drugs have saved a number of lives over the years. However, although these drugs that are developed are for the health of humans, they come at a price. A very hefty price. This is a problem that is more prominent in the US than anywhere else, and solving this problem is rather difficult. Americans pay, by far, more than any other country for prescription drugs. It’s come to a point where Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anything else for...
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...Cost of Prescription Medications Jill Stanley Seattle Pacific University Health Care Delivery Models NUR 4944 July 19, 2014 Most everyone knows that the United States has the leading role when it comes to health care spending and pays out almost one thousand dollars per person per year on pharmaceuticals (Paris, 2014). Sadly, while the financial burden is high for the average family, many Americans are not taking their recommended medications because of the high costs. One in five Americans skip doses because of the cost (Paris, 2014). While there are many things nurses can do to enhance prescription medication compliance, understanding costs and helping implement ways in which patients can control costs, while promoting better outcomes, is critical. The United States spends almost 800 dollars a unit per population on prescription drugs, more than any other country and almost twice the average of 401 dollars per capita (OECD), (Ginsburg et al., 2009, p. 28). Prescriptions account for 17% of all privately insured health care costs and 25.4% of out of pocket spending according to Health Care Cost and Utilization Report (HCCI): 2011. Brand name or patented drugs have increased in price by 17.7% from 2010 to 2011 and generic drugs have actually decreased in cost by -7.2% for the same years from the same HCCI report. Generic drugs have had an increase in utilization from consumers’ while brand name has decreased and this is why pharmaceuticals have raised prices on the...
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...generating billions of dollars in revenues on prescription drugs that have patent protection. Once a drug loses its patent protection, other manufacturers are allowed to make a generic form of the drug. Having a generic form of a brand name drug available should increase the supply in the market for consumers by driving cost down. This paper will discuss the effect of generic drugs and evaluate their effect on the supply and demand for drugs that no longer have patent protection. An example of a prescription drug that recently lost its patent is Lipitor. It is a cholesterol-lowering drug. It has been a top selling drug for several years, totaling over seven billion dollars in sales in the US and a combined total of over ten billion dollars worldwide in 2010. Lipitor’s patent expired on November 30, 2011 making the drug available to be manufactured as a generic drug, therefore increasing affordability to consumers. Until May 2012, Ranbaxy had the sole rights for creating Lipitor’s generic form after the patent expired; after that, it was made available to other drug companies. Pfizer continued to market Lipitor after its patent expired and had spent over eighty seven million dollars in marketing, to generate three hundred eighty three million dollars in the first quarter of 2012. Market power shifted from Pfizer to other drug manufacturers with the expiration of the patent (Hughes, 2012). When a brand name prescription drug such as Lipitor is developed with a patent protection...
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...product promotion through the mass media, such as radio, TV and/or News paper. Thus, the total marketing system depends on marketing team. This paper presents the findings of the study conducted on the ACME Laboratories Ltd. to examine the marketing system. This study reveals that the ACME Laboratories Ltd.’s products are consumed allover the country and also globally. Their motive is to maintain the quality of the product to cope up with the existing competition. Their objective is to treatment the disease, they also set a reasonable price by considering the middle class people to get some benefit from the ACME Laboratories Ltd. They follow all possible distribution channels to make their product available to the customers and at a comfortable place. The ACME Laboratories Ltd. has also endeared to strength its network in international marketing operation to export products abroad. The company provides some motivational tools to the internal sales team. The company provides fringe benefit to these people. It is the most successive tool for the company. From the study we find that the ACME Laboratories Ltd. is a socially responsible company, and practice ethical values. From the study it has appeared that the ACME Laboratories Ltd. is facing some minor marketing problems. So to overcome these problems the ACME Laboratories Ltd. will be extending their business rapidly. Key Words: Pharmaceutical, Industry, Drug, Marketing, Acme. Introduction Pharmaceutical Industry has grown...
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...PFIZER’S POWER: Pfizer is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Their enormous size and well-know products allow Pfizer to control much of the pharmaceutical industry. They base their company on research throughout the world in order to discover and expand new products. Pfizer’s products can increase the quality of life in living with a medical disorder or actually cure the sickness. The company believes it has the tools to lead the way into the next generation of the industry. Growth and pertinent resources will allow Pfizer to bring consumers the opportunity of better health and well-being. They influence health in over 150 countries and strive to enhance the health of humans in underdeveloped countries. Pfizer seeks to achieve these goals by specializing into four separate groups: Pharmaceuticals group, Consumer Healthcare, Global Research and Development and Animal Health Group. (www.pfizer.com) GROUPS: | FUNCTION: | Pharmaceutical | Produce and market pharmaceutical products | Consumer Healthcare | Produce goods to meet consumer demands including both over-the-counter and generics | Global R&D | Scientists research and produce innovative drugs. | Animal Health | Develop and market drugs to help improve the health of animals | PFIZER’S FOUR GROUPS: 1. Pharmaceutical Group: The Pfizer Pharmaceutical Group produces five of the world’s top-selling medicines, and nine are #1 in their therapeutic class in the U.S. market. Eight...
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...Health Care Spending Paper Mary Guzewicz HSC/440 May 14, 2010 Bruce Nave Health Care Spending Paper With in the United States the health care cost for individuals has increased and will continue to increase. This is in a major way due to the fact that equipment, research and technology are always increasing. This paper will discuss what healthcare spending has increased and in which state has a high amount of healthcare spending. The paper will also discuss possible changes that may help lower the cost of three part of our major health care spending. There is wide variation in health care spending across the United States. Health care spending has been on the rise for years. According to (Cuckler, 2011) “In 2009, the 10 states that had the highest levels of total personal health care spending per capita were Massachusetts, Mas Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, Delaware, New York, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania. The per capita spending for these 10 states ranged from 13 to 36 percent higher than the average U.S. per capita spending level and ranged from $7,730 for Pennsylvania to $9,278 for Massachusetts.” These ten states have the highest health care spending and they share a number of demographic and economical characteristics. Table 1. Real per capita spending and spending growth for select provider types, 1970–2008 Average annual growth rate (%) Total Public Private Total 8.5 9.1 7.9 Hospital...
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...Drugs and technology While it is almost impossible to get an actual percentage of people affected by drug addiction, the use continues to grow. Most people will admit to trying some form of illegal drug, but addicts have a hard time even coming to grasp that they are addicted. Our society has been struggling with addiction for hundreds of years. Those affected vary in age, and are not limited to adults. According to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2011), there are approximately 27 million Americans today that either use illicit drugs regularly or are “heavy drinkers”. Sixteen million of these are in need of immediate treatment for their addiction problem. By the age of 18 almost 12 percent of young people in America are addicted to drugs. Statistics also show that about 70 percent of users who are employed contribute significantly to absenteeism in the work place, workplace accidents, workplace injuries, decreased productivity, increased insurance premiums, and large employee turnover and violence in the workplace. The total estimated cost to our society in America for substance abuse exceeds 250 billion dollars per year. Addiction has become prominent as one of the worst health and social problems in the United States today. (coachinginternational.com) Through the last two decades, addiction rates in the United States have increased significantly because of the advancements in Information Technology. Social networking, internet access...
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...and competitive business environment (Fisher & Siburg, 2009). The synergistic gains from M&A may result from efficient management, economies of scale, profitable use of assets, exploitation of market power, and the use of complementary resources (Mitchell et al, 2004). Theoretically it is assumed that mergers improve the performance of the acquiring firm due to increased market share and synergy impact. This paper reviews the acquisition of Medco Medco Containment Services, Inc. (Medco) by Merck & Company (Merck) and cites reasons for acquisition of Medco. Merck's acquisition of Medco represents a $6.6 billion bet on where the future of the pharmaceutical industry lies (Nichols, 1994). In today's managed-care environment, Vagelos (CEO of Merck in 1993) argues, the company that best controls the information flow from doctor to patient to pharmacist to plan sponsor has the greatest chance of succeeding. Medco has information on 38 million patients, which allows Merck to learn a lot more about how its drugs are prescribed and used and, ultimately, how effective they are in fighting disease. Owning Medco can also help Merck increase its market share in an industry in which no company has more than 5% (Nichols, 1994). Medco pharmacists make about 2 million phone calls a year to doctors, and when it's appropriate medically, Merck can use these calls to ask physicians to choose Merck products. Merck stands to benefit from acquisition...
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...A Research Paper On “Perception of Consumers Regarding OTC Products” Submitted To: RITAKA M’AM Submitted By: VIKASH L SHAH 118070592028 Introduction As with many other aspect of healthcare today, the market of OTC medications is undergoing dramatic change. OTC drugs (over the counter) are those drugs that sold without prescription from chemist. Before some years ago there was small no. of medications for treating minor problems such as cold, skin burn, diarrhea, fever, pain. Now list of OTC medicines has expanded to include agents with claims of beneficial effects of mood, memory, energy and general well being. The present scenario is as follows. OTC market of ointments and balms is 16%, analgesics and cold preparations is 9%, and antiseptic cream is 8%. For cough product that is 5%. People use all type of OTC medicines. An important question for the public health community is “how well do consumers understand and process essential information about OTC product” and “what is the general perception of consumers regarding OTC products”. OTC medicines are increasingly used for self medication for variety of common heath problems. OTC products are safe when taken as directed. Sometimes consumers may not realize the potency of drug and may be inadvertently be taking steps that could put their health at risk. This research paper is focusing on consumers’ perception about OTC products which include, -Effect of...
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...prohibited drugs. Whereas numerous of young teenagers by no means take their drug usage farther than the experimentation level, far too many will persist to absorb in this treacherous behavior until their drug abuse interrupts their lives. The most prevalent drugs of abuse among teenagers include alcohol, marijuana, and prescription drugs as well as common over-the-counter medications such as cough syrups containing pseudoephedrine and inhalants. This paper focuses on the drug abuse of prescription medications among teenagers from age 13 to 18 that has emerged as a public health concern and one that has evolved into epidemic levels. This seeks to elevate the visibility of the elapsed challenges, and problems associated with this epidemic. Prescription Medication Abuse: A Public Health Threat There is a compelling rationale that prescription medications are intentionally to be taken under the direction of a physician because if improperly consume these can be hazardous. Subsequently, teens are crafting decision to abuse prescription medications based on lack of information. In fact, numerous teens assumed that prescription medication abuse is safer than abusing illicit medications. Unfortunately, drug abuse pertaining to medication prescription is on the rise. This is the primary reason why this is relevant to me, more over because I have two teenagers. In 2004, approximately 15 million Americans between the ages of 12 and up took prescription medication...
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...January 15, 2006 As an undercover agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration, Aaron Graham saw firsthand how counterfeit drugs can slip into the pharmaceutical supply chain. Graham, now VP and chief security officer for Purdue Pharma, once posed as the manager of an "institutional pharmacy" selling drugs at a discount to secondary wholesalers who were then supposed to sell them to nursing homes. Soon after he began, his phone started ringing. Dozens of smaller pharmaceutical wholesale companies were calling, desperate to buy his drugs. These secondary or "gray market" wholesalers scour the country and the world for low-price drugs they can sell back to major wholesalers for a profit. In addition to trawling for institutional pharmacies, some secondary wholesalers have been known to purchase counterfeit drugs from criminal organizations in places such as China, Thailand or Colombia. Graham, who was part of a two-year FDA sting operation known as "operation gray pill," helped expose a system in which large and small wholesalers were taking advantage of multitiered pricing in the industry. Prescription drugs are sold at discounts to subsidized groups such as nursing homes and also exported at lower prices. Graham and his colleagues found that these lower-priced drugs are sometimes smuggled back into the country and sold to large wholesalers for a profit. These multiple steps, in which a drug can bounce back and forth from distributor to distributor...
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...Business of Developing New Drugs for Cancer Larry Cephas Strayer University Developing new drugs for cancer and or any other medical purpose is a tedious, complex, expensive process. The process in developing new drugs involves numerous stages of trial and error. According to Mahajan and Gupta (2010) on average it can cost anywhere from US$ 802million to US$ 1billion dollars to successfully develop and market new drugs and, that process can take up to 12years with on average of only 8% of them ever hitting the market. From the beginning of civilization, people have been concerned regarding the quality and safety of medicines, which I do not fault anyone because, some medicines just do not work out to be very effected and good for the human body. My purpose of this white paper is to inform you and outline the various steps and procedures that goes into developing these new drugs for cancer, the economic issues people with face today, the special needs being served and the benefits of these new drugs and methods of how they are being developed, and finally based on my research the end result once these newly developed drugs reach the consumers. The Development of New Drugs The steps involved in developing new drugs for cancer patients are very complex (Figure 1). According to a fact sheet released by the California Biomedical Research Association there are several steps taken when developing a new drug. The first step involved is the preclinical research, in which scientist and...
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...Business of Developing New Drugs for Cancer Larry Cephas Strayer University Developing new drugs for cancer and or any other medical purpose is a tedious, complex, expensive process. The process in developing new drugs involves numerous stages of trial and error. According to Mahajan and Gupta (2010) on average it can cost anywhere from US$ 802million to US$ 1billion dollars to successfully develop and market new drugs and, that process can take up to 12years with on average of only 8% of them ever hitting the market. From the beginning of civilization, people have been concerned regarding the quality and safety of medicines, which I do not fault anyone because, some medicines just do not work out to be very effected and good for the human body. My purpose of this white paper is to inform you and outline the various steps and procedures that goes into developing these new drugs for cancer, the economic issues people with face today, the special needs being served and the benefits of these new drugs and methods of how they are being developed, and finally based on my research the end result once these newly developed drugs reach the consumers. The Development of New Drugs The steps involved in developing new drugs for cancer patients are very complex (Figure 1). According to a fact sheet released by the California Biomedical Research Association there are several steps taken when developing a new drug. The first step involved is the preclinical research, in which scientist and...
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...Bottom of Form |Read full version essay Case Analysis : Pharma Industry | |Case Analysis : Pharma Industry | |Print version essay is available for you! You can search Free Term Papers and College Essay Examples written by students!. | |Join Essays24.com and get instant access to Case Analysis : Pharma Industry and over 30,000 other Papers and Essays | | | | | |Category: Business | |Autor: anton 06 June 2011 ...
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