The new england journal of medicine 927 health policy report For more than four decades, beginning with an investigation chaired by Senator Estes Kefauver in the 1950s, debate has raged over the economics of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. Critics point to monopolistic pricing and high profits; defenders emphasize the advances in medical therapy achieved by the industry. In this arti...

Preface Pe rceptions that the pace of new-drug development has slowed and that the pharmaceutical industry is highly profitable have sparked concerns that significant problems loom for future drug development. This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study—prepared at the request of the Senate Majority Leader—reviews basic facts about the drug industry's recent spending on research and developmen...

Today, the goals of pharmaceutical policy and medical practice are often undermined due to institutional corruption — that is, widespread or systemic practices, usually legal, that undermine an institution’s objectives or integrity. In this symposium, 16 articles investigate the corruption of pharmaceutical policy, each taking a different look at the sources of corruption, how it occurs, and wh...

In the broadest sense, the Pharmaceutical Industry comprises various different business models which cover all or only some parts of the pharmaceutical product life cycle. Traditionally, the pharmaceutical industry segment was constituted by research-based pharmaceutical companies which had an integrated business model from the research laboratory to distribution, meaning they developed, manufa...

The November 2005 Supplement to CHEST, “Improving Outcomes in Respiratory Failure: Ventilation, Blood Use, and Anemia Management,” contained eight review articles1–8 concerning transfusion medicine. Publication was supported by an educational grant from Ortho Biotech, the manufacturer of recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin). Not surprisingly, the articles are not supportive of transfusion...

I n the current issue of CHEST (see pages 1255 and 1257), two thoughtful leaders of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) frame an issue that confronts most physicians today—the relationship between us, the physicians, and the medical products industry. This relationship connects those who sell medical products (pharmaceutical or technology) and those who prescribe the use of those pr...

Rising prices of medicines are putting them beyond the reach of many people, even in rich countries. In less-developed countries, millions of individuals do not have access to essential drugs. Drug development is failing to address the major health needs of these countries. The prices of patented medicines usually far exceed the marginal costs of their production; the industry maintains that hi...

The trend among pharmaceutical companies to develop selective drugs of high potency has pushed the industry to consider the potential of each hazardous ingredient to become airborne. Dustiness issues are not unique to the pharmaceutical industry, but are relevant to any industry where powdered materials are mixed, transferred and handled. Interest in dustiness is also driven by concerns for wor...

Early studies on the factors that influence the operating performance within the biotech/pharmaceutical industry mainly focused on the establishment of technological capability or the effects of innovation in terms of increasing competitiveness. Nevertheless, there are few studies on the process, marketing and strategic direction for innovation concerning biotechnology transfer. Due to technolo...