Big pharma : exposing the global healthcare agenda

Last year the pharmaceutical industry had sales in excess of $300 billion. Clearly one way or another we all pay — whether we buy the drugs directly or through taxation. But is it less clear that we are getting value for money? In one of the first independent investigations of the modern healthcare system, Jacky Law shows how a small number of corporations have come to dominate the healthcare agenda in Britain and America. She reveals a system in which the relentless pursuit of profit is crowding out the public good. Effective regulators are under intense pressure from corporate lobbies, and companies spend more money on marketing than they spend on research and development. Meanwhile the cost of new drugs rises relentlessly while the number of original new products declines. All is not well with modern medicine. In what is both a diagnosis and a course of treatment, the author reveals a world where market considerations, not medical need, are determining the research agenda. She points to a future where the public and the medical profession once again have a voice in the kind of healthcare we want — and the healthcare we pay for.

Last year, the pharmaceutical industry had sales in excess of $300 billion. Clearly, we all pay in one way or another — whether by buying drugs directly or through taxation. But it is less clear if we are getting value for our money. Author Jacky Law shows how a small number of corporations have come to dominate the global healthcare agenda. She reveals a system in which the relentless pursuit of profit is crowding out the public good. Effective regulators are under intense pressure from corporate lobbies, and companies spend more money on marketing than they spend on research and development. Meanwhile, the cost of new drugs rises relentlessly, while the number of original new products declines. All is not well with modern medicine. In what is both a diagnosis and a recommended course of treatment, Big Pharma reveals a world where market considerations, not medical need, are determining the research agenda. The author points to a future where the public and the medical profession once again have a voice in the kind of healthcare we want — and the healthcare we pay for.

Argues that the pharmaceutical industry has shifted its focus from research and development to marketing, contending that a small number of corporations are having a disproportionate influence on the global health-care agenda. The fundamental problem with medicines may be quite straightforward.