Fw: Report Debunks Drug Industry Claims About the Cost of New Drug Research and Development

[Guest guest]

From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2001 7:43 PM

Subject: Report Debunks Drug Industry Claims About the Cost of New Drug

Research and Development

> ~~~ thanks much rich ~~~

>

> http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=677

>

> July 23, 2001

>

> New Report Debunks Drug Industry Claims About the Cost of New Drug

Research

> and Development

>

> Second Report Documents Industrys Intense Lobby and Political Contribution

> Campaign to Keep Prices and Profits High

>

> WASHINGTON, D.C. The pharmaceutical industry spends about one-fifth of

> what it says it spends on the research and development (R & D) of new drugs,

> destroying the chief argument it uses against making prescription drugs

> affordable to middle and low-income seniors, a Public Citizen

investigation

> has found.

>

> The findings are contained in a Public Citizen report, Rx R & D Myths: The

> Case Against the Drug Industrys R & D Scare Card.

>

> The report reveals how major U.S. drug companies and their Washington

lobby

> group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA),

> have carried out a misleading campaign to scare policymakers and the

> public. PhRMAs central claim is that the industry needs extraordinary

> profits to fund " risky " and innovative research and development to

discover

> new drugs. In fact, taxpayers are footing a significant portion of the R & D

> bill, which is much lower than the companies claim.

>

> " This R & D scare card is built on myths and falsehoods that are maintained

> by the drug industry to block Medicare drug coverage and measures that

> would rein in skyrocketing drug costs, " said Clemente, director of

> Public Citizen's Congress Watch.

>

> Public Citizen based the study on an extensive review of government and

> industry data and a report obtained through the Freedom of Information Act

> from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Among the reports key

> findings:

>

> * The actual after-tax cash outlay what drug companies really spend

> on R & D for each new drug (including failures) is approximately $110

million

> (in year 2000 dollars.) This is in marked contrast with the $500 million

> figure PhRMA frequently touts.

>

>

> * The NIH document shows how crucial taxpayer-funded research is to

> the development of top-selling drugs. According to the NIH, U.S.

> taxpayer-funded scientists conducted at least 55 percent of the research

> projects that led to the discovery and development of the five top-selling

> drugs in 1995.

>

>

> * Public Citizen found that, at most, about 22 percent of the new

> drugs brought to market in the past two decades were innovative drugs that

> represented important therapeutic advances. Most new drugs were " me-too "

or

> copycat drugs that have little or no therapeutic gain over existing drugs,

> undercutting the industrys claim that R & D expenses are used to discover

new

> treatments for serious and life-threatening illnesses.

>

>

> A second report issued today by Public Citizen, The Other Drug War: Big

> Pharma's 625 Washington Lobbyists, examines how the U.S. drug industry

> spent an unprecedented $262 million on political influence in the

1999-2000

> election cycle. That includes $177 million on lobbying, $65 million on

> issue ads and $20 million on campaign contributions. The report shows

that:

>

> * The drug industry hired 625 different lobbyists last year or more

> than one lobbyist for every member of Congress to coax, cajole and coerce

> lawmakers. The one-year bill for this team of lobbyists was $92.3 million,

> a $7.2 million increase over what the industry spent for lobbyists in

1999.

>

>

> * Drug companies took advantage of the revolving door between

> Congress, the executive branch and the industry itself. Of the 625

> lobbyists employed in 2000, more than half were either former members of

> Congress (21) or worked in Congress or other federal agencies (295).

>

>

> * The industrys $20 million in campaign contributions and millions

> more in issue ads attacking candidates opposed by the industry aided its

> army of lobbyists in gaining access to congressional representatives.

>

>

> " The drug industry is stealing from us twice, " Clemente said. " First it

> claims that it needs huge profits to develop new drugs, even while drug

> companies get hefty taxpayer subsidies. Second, the companies gouge

> taxpayers while spending millions from their profits to buy access to

> lawmakers and defeat pro-consumer prescription drug legislation. "

>

> Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and

> Means Health Subcommittee, added, " Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical

> companies have been deceiving Congress and the American public for years.

I

> commend Public Citizen for exposing the industrys long-standing attempt to

> hide the truth about R & D spending. "

>

> Sen. Wellstone (D-Minn.), said, " This well-documented Public Citizen

> report shows just how much the pharmaceutical industry exaggerates its

> commitment to research and development and focuses instead on the bottom

> line. "

>

> Added Rep. Tom (D-Maine), " Millions of our seniors have paid taxes

> for decades and contributed to the development of new drugs. Now in their

> retirement, they pay the highest prices in the world for these drugs. . .

..

> The public deserves better. "

>

> Public Citizen calls on Congress to pass a Medicare-run prescription drug

> benefit program with strong cost containment that guarantees affordable

> prices for middle and low-income seniors.

>

>

>