For all those who think that the pharmaceutical companies are in a conspiracy to make loads of money at our expense, this might be of interest…
Hi Belinda.
New it cost a lot but these numbers are astounding.
If i had the money i would buy shares in them.
Thanks for posting it.
TTFN.
Chris.
Someone posted somewhere about how the pharmaceutical companies rip people off with how much they charge for drugs so I did a bit of research. The following numbers are industry sector “return on capital” from the FT All Share Index, 5/2/12. Return on capital is basically how much money companies make as a proportion of how much money they have had to spend to make it. So, e.g., if we spend £100 to make £10 profit, we’ve made 10% return on capital.
Personal Goods 26.67%
Aerospace & Defence 25.38%
Software & PC Services 23.81%
Mining 23.71%
Electricity 22.84%
Pharmaceuticals 22.14%
Telecoms 21.89%
Household Goods & Construction 21.01%
Chemicals 19.52%
Tobacco 18.70%
Food Producers 17.20%
Drinks 15.33%
Oil 14.87%
Gas & Water 12.09%
Mobile Telephones 5.77%
So, not even remotely at the top of the table!
I think people forget just how expensive it is to bring new drugs to the market. As your post shows Belinda, sometimes billions of pounds for just one!
What’s really worrying is that drug companies are beginning to pull out of trialling new drugs in Europe (going to places like Japan instead). It’s too expensive and too full of politics and bureaucracy here. That means less trials for us to get involved in. It also potentially means less drugs that are suitable for us (genetics vary around the world). Not good
Karen x
Crikey, Belinda. Thanks for posting this. My Goodness, you need to have long pockets, or a spectacularly good credit rating, to be a drug company.
It would be interesting to know how much of the research spend can be attributed (in retrospect!) to drugs that actually make it to market, as opposed to the many that are still-born.
It’s no wonder they have to load the cost onto their success stories - and I’m sure they are very good at explaining this necessity to NICE! - but I guess the trick is to be tough enough on the companies to keep them honest, but not so tough that you kill the research goose that lays the golden eggs of the future.
Alison
x
Thanlk you for a good post. My view on it is that globally MS drugs are worth £6 BILLION a year to the drug companies.Where is the motivation to cure us all and go broke?
Wb
Being purely cynical, the motivation is to do it first because, if they don’t, someone else will grab the patent and make all the money. Plus, a cure isn’t a preventative - it will be needed forever for new cases. LOADS of dosh!
Kx
Don’t ever feel sorry for any drug’s company, in most cases they have a licence to print money, but of course you will only hear them whinge about costs. I am confidant that a cash poor drug’s company cannot be named. In fact the owner of one such company, is in the region of the second richest person in the world !!.
This is why I object and vote against the MS Society, providing funds for MS prevention or cure drugs, because when such drug’s are formulated, will the drug’s company give any credit to the MS society and their supporters, like hell they will, it will be two fingers in the air, as they rush to bank the profits.
Take care.
Chris R.
I. El. (Eng). (Rtd).
Cynic here btw…
It costs millions to research new drugs, somehow I doubt “millions” to us means the same to the companies that do the research. If they find a new drug they make money on it, I imagine they would at minimum break even on the new drug within a year of selling it.
Sure it’s expensive but they are a business, don’t be fooled into thinking they don’t make more money a week then you’ll likely see in your lifetime.
So Chris, you’d rather everyone with MS in the world, in this generation and the next, suffer this lovely gift of MS without any hope whatsoever, than the drugs companies make a profit?
Great attitude, thanks for your contribution.
Chris, is the expression ‘cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face’ a familiar one to you?
Alison
x
OMG! Seriously?!
Speechless!!!
To chris r
Today was a bad day for me and i feel an individual like yourself who say’s i and many other’s should not have ms drug’'s or prevention cures then i will quite happily give you the oppurtunity to explain to my kiddies why mummy is now losing her vision and is now partial blind and if you seriously think that drug’s and prevention are handed out like the big issue then i take your research with the contemp it deserves the cat litter tray. I have been fighting with the ms society more recently to get treatment to get anything and the NHS will not fund the treatment due to cost and twit’s like yourself who believe we are worthless. As an ex student nurse people always got a dose of there bitterness. I am equally shocked that you have the ball’s to be so offensive i don’t mind a different view it help’s but to disrespect the ms society as many would say never bite the hand that feed’s you.
Baffled
Incredible piece of logic there Chris, only an engineer could come up with that.
I can be as cynical as the next person when it comes to the pharmaceutical industry, but my concerns are more to do with dubious marketing activity than anything else. Testing of drugs on third world peasants is particularly unpleasant and often has disastrous consequences, which are all carefully hidden. Capitalism eh?
However, I benefit from a drug that has gone through the development process and I am hugely grateful. The MSS should continue investing funds in stuff like stem cell research and personally, I rather like the idea that the next generation will have a better future.
Thank you all for reading the incorrect meaning into my post, maybe you should read it again.
Then tell me were I said I was against the development of drug’s for the treatment/cure of MS.
What I am against is the MS Society, throwing money at fat cat drug’s companies who will, of their own fruition, find a drug or drug’s to combat MS, why are they motivated to do this, because of the vast profits to be made.
Please read posts carefully before making sweeping accusations.
Thank you in anticipation.
Chris R.
I. El. (Eng). (Rtd).
There you go again looking at the bigger picture. Couldn’t you try to be a little more narrow minded sometimes, or have I misinterpreted your words?
You’re most welcome Chris, always a pleasure.
As a matter of interest, which companies do you believe the MSS has thrown money at & can you substantiate that with figures and dates please?
I know they fund a number of university research projects, the MS tissue bank, the myelin repair centre, stem cell research, to name a few. But have they actually given any money to “fat cat drugs companies” or is this an assumption?
Hey??? You “object (to) and vote against the MS Society, providing funds for MS prevention or cure drugs”???
Sorry, did I read that right? Would hate to be accused of misinterpreting you…
I am more than happy for the MS Society, the group which is there to support and advocate on OUR behalf, to do anything and all it can to help find ways of preventing, curing or minimising the impacts of MS.
Are you honestly saying that you would rather we all had no access to preventative treatment just to ensure the pharmaceutical companies posted a slightly reduced profit margin?
Are you completely NUTS???
Belinda
Wow new MS symptom twisted reality
I didn’t misunderstand you Chris. My “OMG! Seriously?! Speechless!!!” comment was a response to your lack of understanding of how the MSS spends its research monies and my shock that you could withold support for the development of drugs to help your fellow MSers because of what appears to be nothing more substantial than a conspiracy theory.
I will be very interested to see your response to HKFooey’s questions. Exactly which “fat cat” drug companies does the MSS fund? And to what extent?
Incidentally, you might want to compare the figures that Belinda posted at the head of this thread with the fact that the MSS’s total expenditure in 2010 was £35.3m of which they spent 11% on research. That’s £3.88m.
And so, I repeat:
OMG! Seriously?!