Report on Drug Firms Missing Viewpoint

“Once Golden, Drug Firms Under Assault” [Aug. 4] goes on and on, but sadly, there is one common denominator that every single TV viewer knows that is apparently missing--the incredible amounts of TV advertising purchased by practically every drug company on the planet selling prescription drugs.

Articles tell us stuff we all have read about over the years, but where is the part that makes accusations about endless budgets set aside for expensive TV commercials?

We all pay for these ads by paying higher and higher health insurance premiums.

Tony Hart

Moorpark

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“The Tufts Center estimates it costs $805 million and takes 10 to 15 years to bring a new drug to market. Yet only 3 in 10 drugs have recouped that average cost.” With only 32 new drugs coming to market last year, how are pharmaceutical companies expected to develop additional medications if they do not make a profit on current, branded medications?

How will the public feel when research and development halts because companies can no longer afford to invest in the public’s future?

What will happen when the drug industry stops providing free medication to indigent patients, or stops providing samples to physicians so patients can determine if they have adverse reactions to a new medication before they have to pay for it?

This cost is something that many pharmaceutical companies absorb to help the public.

Maybe next time any individual has to pay for their prescription, they might want to stop and think of the alternative of not having it available to them.

Kendall Yandell

Burbank