Hmm, not trying to be argumentative and since I don't mind a debate...
yes, I can see the point here, but nature has less costly alternatives that are better tolerated by the body, not given to the side effects of most drugs and are CHEAPER>
That is true, too some extent.
I suppose we all could chew willow bark in place of aspirin, however I don't see the practicality of providing for tens of billions of doses of bark for current population, and the the potential for overdose is going to kill how many like Beethoven?
Unfortunately, even if we were to focus on using natural substances only, it would still require much the same type of infrastructure, investment and money driven R&D to meet economies of scale and support ongoing research.
If anything, its quite possible it would end up more expensive.
The whole premise of the pharma industry is making a PROFIT from selling compounds that reap bottom line benefits. Yes, they invest a lot developing products-won't dispute that, but what is neglected and overlooked is that many of the products aren't the ONLY salvation for health or cure.
I fail to see what the problem is with that premise.
Do you go in to work, and refuse your paycheck?
Most if not all of the big pharma companies have programs to supply drugs to those in dire financial need.
That seems to be neglected and overlooked too.
Companies have 7 years in which to make-up their expenditures and costs for a given product.
In addition to that 1 drug that does make it past clinical trials, there are 7-8 others at various stages of Phase 1-3 which failed, and numerous others which were investigated, researched and failed before P1.
Once that 7 years is up, the generics come in and spend $0 on anything but manf. and ramp up production using someone else's R&D to produce product at a much lower cost.
This is both the boon and rub of capitalism.
That is my beef, what isn't discussed or reported is the motive, I am of the camp that the motive is greed, not health in most cases, and I realize I am not popular for holding that opinion, but I can BACK it up with my own experience and research. Insulin is wonderful-a boom for many, and yet many diabetics would benefit from dietary changes, and lifestyle changes, many have boycotted insulin in favor of alternatives and have succeeded in regaining their health.
To be honest, this seems like more of a 1%'er discussion.
My nephew has Type 1, and no, the dietary changes don't do much beyond helping him keep broadly, and temporarily within a non-lethal range. If the majority of Type-1 diabetics were to boycott insulin, even with the best outreach and documentaries and online tutorials, you'd have hospitals overflowing with patients, and incredible numbers of deaths within weeks.
I googled for insulin and boycott, and didn't find anything in my brief glance. I did however run across an article or two that I've been watching for a while now, which focus on STEM cells and pancreatic pre-curser cells.
Some of the billions of dollars you disagree with are being spend on research that will in all likelihood allow us to grow new pancreatic cells in billary ducts and perhaps partially restore some form of pancreatic function.
If you know of something natural that will do this, or even simply work like insulin, then I'm sure many would love to hear of it. Of course to do that, I suspect it would take trained professionals, infrastructure and research facilities, labs, admin, and, and, and...
Alas it is two sided coin, as with most stuff. My passion is for people to research ALL the possibilities, but KNOW that what motivates the drug industry is mostly guided by a large profit margin, and sales ability.
I quit fail to understand why you think everyone else in the world is, in effect, stupid.
Drug companies exist to make money. Yes.
Car companies exist to make money. Yes.
Dog breeders exist to make money. Yes.
And if GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Marck or Bayer can make an equivelent, and cheaper oncological, HIV, etc drug, then they will win market share and provide a lower cost drug to us. All while making big $$ for themselves.
I think most people get that.
The field is very much a science, with a capitol S like rocket Science and not any thing like producing an iPhone5, and then an iPhone6 the next year.
Thats simply engineering.
