Bitter Pill
I strongly disagree with Peter Pitts, who wrote the Sept. 20 Open Mic, “Transparency in Drug
Prices.”
Transparency? His argument is deceptive. His credentials: a former scion of Big Pharma and
its revolving door to and from government administrators supposedly overseeing corporations.
He is arguing for more money for drug companies.
As an example, Pfizer’s revenue in 2022 was $101.1 billion. Johnson & Johnson’s was
$95.6 billion. On average, these corporations spend about 25% of their revenue on R&D, which is an investment that guarantees greater profits each and every year to come. (Of course, they don’t research any natural remedies; no profit in that.) Big Pharma raked in $1.23 trillion in sales in 2020, expected to rise to $1.7 trillion in 2025.
Where does the money come from for drug companies’ research and development? From the
federal government—that is, from your pocket. Then, the multibillion-dollar drug companies sell
the drugs (“just say no”) back to us taxpayers at the highest prices of any nation on Earth. We
funded the R&D; they get the patents and the profits; we get screwed.
Read the article. Pitts states he is against activists. Price controls are good. We need to
control greedy corporations that are ripping us off.
Barry Barnett
Santa Rosa
