Pharmaceutical Industry

Also in this week’s issue of Time, an article about rising drug prices, and the price-gouging carried out by some pharmaceutical companies that has been making the news recently.  And, unsurprisingly, my employer was one of the companies that got mentioned in the article.  It’s interesting working for an industry that is much maligned!  Both Trump and Hilary have said they will do something about it if they get elected (but that is unlikely to get much traction because of the lobbying power that the pharmaceutical industry has).  Even though my entire career has been in this industry, I’ve always remained skeptical of it.  Drug companies don’t want to cure diseases because it’s not profitable - much better to contain or prevent diseases though long-term treatment.  And frankly, the profits that companies like mine make are obscene.  However, what price can you put on developing new drugs that save lives and/or improve quality of life?  It’s a fine lead to tread - just another symptom of what is an extremely dysfunctional healthcare system in the US.