Review:
"American expenditures on prescription drugs doubled between 1990 and 2000 and currently account for close to ten percent of total healthcare costs. Concerns about availability to seniors and the poor have led many to question these high costs, which pharmaceutical companies have always justified as necessary to spur the creation of new and better drugs. In this well-researched book, Goozner, former chief economics correspondent at the "Chicago Tribune, disputes these claims. He chronicles the actual clinical process by which new drugs come into being, from basic scientific research on disease processes conducted at universities and government labs to the synthesis of new chemicals."--"Library Journal
From the Back Cover:
""The $800 Million Pill is a masterful work of explanatory and investigative journalism. Merrill Goozner has versed himself in the interlocking worlds of medicine, business, politics, and basic science to explain how pharmaceutical breakthroughs truly occur. He also explains why drug costs are now so needlessly high. This is a compelling and important book."--James Fallows of "The Atlantic Monthly, author of "Breaking the News"Merrill Goozner does a superb job at explaining just how the pharmaceutical industry gets away with systematic overcharging, and why bio-medical advances do not require the current profiteering. This is the definitive book on this vital topic."--Robert Kuttner, Co-Editor of "The American Prospect and author of "Everything for Sale"Why do your prescription drugs cost so much? The real answers may surprise you. In a lively and straightforward narrative, veteran journalist Merrill Goozner goes behind the headlines and pharmaceutical industry spin to uncover the politics and the practices that drive up drug costs. His diagnosis and prescriptions make a valuable contribution to the growing national debate over safe, quality and affordable health care for all Americans."--Clarence Page, syndicated columnist for the "Chicago Tribune"Merrill Goozner has written an important book. The high-stakes national debate over what to do about prescription drug coverage and costs too often suffers from a dearth of facts and analysis. This volume helps to fill that gap by illuminating the seemingly opaque world of pharmaceutical research and development."--Susan Dentzer, Health Correspondent for "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS
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