Pharmaceutical CEO: Cancer Drug Is Only For Westerners Who Can Afford It

[deminks]

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/01/26/3205861/pharmaceutical-ceo-cancer-drug-westerners-afford/

In 2005, the FDA granted approval for a promising new cancer-fighting drug called Nexavar. Bayer took it to market shortly thereafter, and it is currently an approved treatment for late-stage kidney and liver cancer.

That is, so long as you live in the developed world. In a recently published interview in Bloomberg Businessweek, Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers said that his company’s drug isn’t for poor people.

“We did not develop this medicine for Indians…we developed it for western patients who can afford it,” he said back in December. The quote is quickly making its way across Indian news outlets.

The comment was in response to a decision by an Indian patent court that granted a compulsory license to a local company to reproduce Bayer’s drug. Under Indian patent laws, if a product is not available locally at a reasonable cost, other companies may apply for licenses to reproduce those products at a more affordable price. Nexavar costs an estimated $69,000 for a full year of treatment in India, 41 times the country’s annual per capita income.

(end snip)

They just don't effing hide it anymore.

[Faux pas]

1. I say let the ones who can afford it have it...

they can be the guinea pigs for the side effects.

[Heather MC]

6. I will eat more Kale they can have their designer drugs

[Faux pas]

18. Sounds like a good plan!

[WillyT]

2. K & R !!!

[L0oniX]

3. This sociopath is worth...

5-Year Compensation Total
$104.64 mil

Marijn E Dekkers has been CEO of Thermo Fisher (TMO) for 6 years. Mr. Dekkers has been with the company for 9 years. The 51 year old executive ranks 12 within Health Care Equipment & Services

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/12/best-boss-09_Marijn-E-Dekkers_ZQ77.html

[dembotoz]

4. 25 or so years ago, my wife died from leukemia--if i were to discover that some asshat

ceo had a treatment for her but he did not think she DESERVED it,

well i would either be dead or in prison right now.....

just sayin

[RC]

5. This country needs a law like that.

if a product is not available locally at a reasonable cost, other companies may apply for licenses to reproduce those products at a more affordable price.

You can bet the high cost of cancer drugs and other special use drugs would come down in a hurry.

[PADemD]

7. Be sure to click on the link.

There is a picture of the smug SOB.

[Logical]

8. It costs billions to get a drug to market. That money has to come from somewhere. n-t

[reformist2]

10. Somehow I think medicines would still be developed without the big bucks.

[Logical]

11. How? And then why are there not more drugs on the market from non-pharma? n-t

[reformist2]

12. Probably because everyone in medicine is hooked up to pharma. There are a lot of smart people who

would continue doing their research without the billions in corporate funding.

[Logical]

13. I dont think you have any clue how a drug gets to market. Do some research on phase 1,2,3 studies...

You can invent a drug in your basement tomorrow.

Then please explain how you get it to market through FDA approval on the cheap.

Up to 10 years to bring it to market.

And the cost is 100s of million of dollars.

You can't have it both ways. Cheap and safe.

[CFLDem]

15. Stop it Logical!

You're being too logical.

That being said, big pharma charges well more than enough to make their money back plus ginormous profit.

All we're asking is that instead of lobbying to gouge us, they should lobby for gov't to help make their drugs more affordable.

[Logical]

16. Lobbying and advertising is part of every business. I am fine with 100% government run....

pharma if someone can find a way to make it work.

If you found a pill tomorrow that would end diabetes you would have trouble getting it approved in 5 years and not spending a billion dollars.

Is that the Pharma companies fault or the FDA? I don't know.

Believe it or not, remove the profit from selling drugs and you will get very few new drugs.

There should be way more outrage on oil that you can easily get out of the ground.

[reformist2]

9. Time to require pharmas to follow the Hippocratic oath.

There is a huge disconnect between having a medical profession dedicated to helping whoever needs help, and having a pharmaceutical industry dedicated to profit.

[Initech]

14. Greedy fucking assholes.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

17. Bayer used to buy Jews from Auschwitz for 170RM apiece to test drugs on

Normally I don't trot out 70 year old stories to stick it to someone, but I see their attitude hasn't changed all that much in all that time.


http://www.omg-facts.com/History/The-Bayer-Company-Purchased-Prisoners-Fr/53632
http://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/feb/19/julianborger
http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-firms/11153-bayer-a-history
http://www.mega.nu/ampp/bayer.html
http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/05/01/27a.php

[Puzzledtraveller]

19. We embrace big pharma now anyway so....