Come the revolution, pharmacists and prescription-drug manufacturers should join lawyers and politicians lined up against the wall.
Ignore the lame excuse that high markups are necessary to recover the costs of research and development (read: promotion) of new medications.
Here is what Detroit, Mich. Channel 7 reporter Steve Wilson discovered:
The markups for 100 tablets of the many commonly prescribed medications range from 2,892 to 569,958 percent.
For example: One tablet of 20-mg Prozac costs 11 cents to make, but 100 tablets cost consumers $247.47. One tablet of one-mg Xanax costs two cents to make, but 100 tablets cost consumers $136.79.
Not only that, but a significant percentage of drugs sold in America contain active ingredients developed and manufactured in other countries.
The term gouge doesn’t begin to adequately describe this royal rip-off. (30 NOVEMBER 2003)
