Abstract
Abbreviations and Acronyms:
CEO (chief executive officer)Household income in the United States. Wikipedia website. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States. Updated January 28, 2014. Accessed November 3, 2014.
Should Cancer Drug Prices Be Determined by Market Forces or by Fair Pricing?
Social Progress Imperative. Social progress index. Social Progress Imperative website. www.socialprogressimperative.org. Accessed November 3, 2014.
Institute of Medicine. U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health. Institute of Medicine website. http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2013/US-Health-in-International-Perspective-Shorter-Lives-Poorer-Health.aspx. Published January 9, 2013. Accessed July 11, 2014.
Moral and Social Corporate Responsibilities of Pharmaceutical Companies When Establishing Cancer Drug Prices
George W. Merck. Wikipedia website. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Merck. Accessed November 3, 2014.
Martin D. Rashi Fein, economist who urged Medicare, dies at 88 [obituary]. New York Times website. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/us/rashi-fein-economist-who-urged-medicare-dies-at-88.html?_r=0. Published September 13, 2014. Accessed November 3, 2014.
Unaffordable Cancer Drug Prices May Harm Patients
Household income in the United States. Wikipedia website. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States. Updated January 28, 2014. Accessed November 3, 2014.
Medicare at a glance [fact sheet]. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation website. http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/1066-17-medicare-at-a-glance.pdf. Published August 2014. Accessed November 4, 2014.
Should Oncologists Be Involved in This Discussion?
Justifications for High Cancer Drug Prices—Are the Reasons Offered Valid?
Huff EA. Big pharma lies about R&D costs to justify illicit profits. Natural News website. http://www.naturalnews.com/031657_Big_Pharma_drug_development_costs.html. Published March 10, 2011. Accessed January 7, 2014.
Hirschler B. GlaxoSmithKline boss says new drugs can be cheaper. Reuters website. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/14/us-glaxosmithkline-prices-idUSBRE92D0RM20130314. Published March 14, 2013. Accessed November 4, 2014.
Scherer FM. The F.T.C., Oligopoly, and Shared Monopoly. Faculty Research Working Paper Series. Harvard Kennedy School website. https://research.hks.harvard.edu/publications/getFile.aspx?Id=978. Published September 2013. Accessed December 6, 2013.
Scherer FM. The F.T.C., Oligopoly, and Shared Monopoly. Faculty Research Working Paper Series. Harvard Kennedy School website. https://research.hks.harvard.edu/publications/getFile.aspx?Id=978. Published September 2013. Accessed December 6, 2013.
Bach PB. Could high drug prices be bad for innovation? Forbes website. http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2014/10/23/could-high-drug-prices-be-bad-for-innovation/. Published October 23, 2014. Accessed November 4, 2014.
Americans Pay More for Cancer Drugs Than Populations Anywhere Else
Factors That Perpetuate High Cancer Drug Prices
Das K, Petigara T, Anderson G. Price negotiations for drugs in the U.S. Health Policy Monitor website. http://www.hpm.org/survey/us/b9/3. Published April 2007. Accessed January 7, 2014.
Big pharma CEOs pocket $1.57 billion in total pay as they preside over sharp rise in marketing violations, Medicare price-gouging. Health Care for America Now website. http://healthcareforamericanow.org/2013/05/08/press-statement-pharma-ceo-pay/. Published May 8, 2013. Accessed January 7, 2015
Big pharma pockets $711 billion in profits by price-gouging taxpayers and seniors. Health Care for America Now website. http://healthcareforamericanow.org/2013/04/08/pharma-711-billion-profits-price-gouging-seniors/. Published April 8, 2013. Accessed January 8, 2015.
Yakowicz W. Top 10 most profitable industries of 2014. Inc.com website. http://www.inc.com/ss/will-yakowicz/10-best-industries-on-2014-inc-5000.html. Accessed January 9, 2015.
Baker D. The savings from an efficient Medicare prescription drug plan. Center for Economic and Policy Research website. http://www.cepr.net/documents/efficient_medicare_2006_01.pdf. Published January 2006. Accessed January 7, 2015.
Koenig B. FTC reports slight decrease in pay-for-delay deals in FY 2013. FDAnews website. http://www.fdanews.com/articles/169433-ftc-reports-slight-decrease-in-pay-for-delay-deals-in-fy-2013. Accessed January 8, 2015.
US Food and Drug Administration. For industry. Importations of drugs. Food and Drug Administration website. http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/ImportProgram/ucm173751.htm. Updated June 30, 2010. Accessed January 15, 2015.
Potter W. Opinion: big pharma’s stranglehold on Washington. Center for Public Integrity website. http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/02/11/12175/opinion-big-pharmas-stranglehold-washington. Published February 11, 2013. Updated May 19, 2014. Accessed January 7, 2015.
Falconi M. Novartis manages to push back competition to leukemia drug in the U.S. Wall Street Journal website. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304908304579563560797460496. Accessed January 8, 2015.
Center for Responsive Politics. Lobbying Database, Pharmaceuticals/Health Products, 2012 Summary. OpenSecrets.org. website. http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=H04&year=2012. Updated January 20, 2015. Accessed January 7, 2015.
Possible Solutions
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. http://www.nice.org.uk/search?q=cost+benefit+of+cancer+drugs. Accessed February 6, 2015.
Schwander B, Banz K, Kaier K, Walzer S. Evaluation of a possible predictor for Federal Joint Committee decisions on early benefit assessments according to the German act on the reform of the market for medicinal products. July 2014. http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0168851014001675/1-s2.0-S0168851014001675-main.pdf?_tid=a461d948-ad76-11e4-ae9e-00000aacb35e&acdnat=1423168760_8a3d7cc29df4d280cfad4e45fe5cc838. Accessed February 6, 2015.
Silverman E. Roche faces an online campaign to cut the price of a cancer drug in the UK. Wall Street Journal Pharmalot website. http://blogs.wsj.com/pharmalot/2014/10/22/roche-faces-an-online-campaign-to-cut-the-price-of-a-cancer-drug-in-the-uk-2/.campaign-to-cut-the-price-of-a-cancer-drug-in-the-uk-2/. Published October 22, 2014. Accessed January 8, 2015.
Supplemental Online Material
References
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Institute of Medicine. U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health. Institute of Medicine website. http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2013/US-Health-in-International-Perspective-Shorter-Lives-Poorer-Health.aspx. Published January 9, 2013. Accessed July 11, 2014.
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George W. Merck. Wikipedia website. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Merck. Accessed November 3, 2014.
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Big pharma CEOs pocket $1.57 billion in total pay as they preside over sharp rise in marketing violations, Medicare price-gouging. Health Care for America Now website. http://healthcareforamericanow.org/2013/05/08/press-statement-pharma-ceo-pay/. Published May 8, 2013. Accessed January 7, 2015
Big pharma pockets $711 billion in profits by price-gouging taxpayers and seniors. Health Care for America Now website. http://healthcareforamericanow.org/2013/04/08/pharma-711-billion-profits-price-gouging-seniors/. Published April 8, 2013. Accessed January 8, 2015.
Yakowicz W. Top 10 most profitable industries of 2014. Inc.com website. http://www.inc.com/ss/will-yakowicz/10-best-industries-on-2014-inc-5000.html. Accessed January 9, 2015.
Baker D. The savings from an efficient Medicare prescription drug plan. Center for Economic and Policy Research website. http://www.cepr.net/documents/efficient_medicare_2006_01.pdf. Published January 2006. Accessed January 7, 2015.
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Center for Responsive Politics. Lobbying Database, Pharmaceuticals/Health Products, 2012 Summary. OpenSecrets.org. website. http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=H04&year=2012. Updated January 20, 2015. Accessed January 7, 2015.
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