FaunaClassifieds - View Single Post - -The Shocking Truth About Drug Prices

11-20-2003, 11:21 PM

My brother in-law works for a company which tests medications before they are put on the market.

In the division in which he works they are testing for shelf life and expiration dates. What he has told me is that the company must send to his division alone 20,000 pills which are made just like the ones that they will want to sell. This is done before the pills are made for market. Meaning that they need to construct the machines to build these 20,000 pills. Then the pills are put into several different "lockers" each are climate controled to simulate different types of "shelves" with different temperatures and humidities. Each week a pill is taken from each locker and put through a bunch of tests. Things like degridation tests, potency tests ect.... This is done for at least a year most run longer than that and some can last up to five years in testing meaning that they have to make more pills to stick in these lockers. The pill makers have to pay for all testing and storage for the tests on these. And then most of the medications that are tested fail and hence they have to go back to the drawing boards.

Do I think that it's ok that the government doesn't put a cap on prescription prices and/or help those who have to make the choice between food or medication? Hell no! I just wanted to shed a little bit of light on the situation, and show you that there is some truth to the high prices, however I can't imagine with all the people in the nation that are on prescriptions that the cost couldn't be covered in a relatively short time. (Hence patents only last so long, or so that's how it is suppost to work)

11-20-2003, 11:21 PM	#3
Missymonkey	I just wanted to share some info. My brother in-law works for a company which tests medications before they are put on the market. In the division in which he works they are testing for shelf life and expiration dates. What he has told me is that the company must send to his division alone 20,000 pills which are made just like the ones that they will want to sell. This is done before the pills are made for market. Meaning that they need to construct the machines to build these 20,000 pills. Then the pills are put into several different "lockers" each are climate controled to simulate different types of "shelves" with different temperatures and humidities. Each week a pill is taken from each locker and put through a bunch of tests. Things like degridation tests, potency tests ect.... This is done for at least a year most run longer than that and some can last up to five years in testing meaning that they have to make more pills to stick in these lockers. The pill makers have to pay for all testing and storage for the tests on these. And then most of the medications that are tested fail and hence they have to go back to the drawing boards. Do I think that it's ok that the government doesn't put a cap on prescription prices and/or help those who have to make the choice between food or medication? Hell no! I just wanted to shed a little bit of light on the situation, and show you that there is some truth to the high prices, however I can't imagine with all the people in the nation that are on prescriptions that the cost couldn't be covered in a relatively short time. (Hence patents only last so long, or so that's how it is suppost to work)