Chapter+Analysis&Prediction


 * Chapter 1** states that the pharmaceutical industry has consistently been ranked the most profitable in the U.S. since the early 1980's. According to government sources, Americans spent roughly $200 billion on prescription drugs in 2002. Also in this chapter, Angell talks about how the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 led to the rise of large drug companies. By looking at the title of the following chapter, The Creation of a New Drug, I predict the author will discuss the process of making a new prescription drug.


 * Chapter 2** consists of information regarding the process of making new drugs, also refered to as pharmaceutical research and developement. Angell says that drug companies have far less to do with the R & D process of a new drug than they lead us to believe. The story of AZT, the first drug to treat HIV/AIDS, is a great example of this hidden scandal. Many government, university, and other non-profit sources were used in the creation of AZT, but only until late in the developement process is this gathered information handed off to a private company for manufacture and distribution. The phases of the clinical trials and the volunteer drug tests are also disucced. I predict that the following chapter will be about the money involved in putting a new prescription drug out on the market.


 * Chapter 3** of this book talks about the costs of creating a new drug and putting it on the market. The 2001 cost for research and developement of each new drug was said to be $802 million. Angell is surprised by this outrageous price, but finding if that's the actual cost is difficult since the industry won't give out the necessary information. It is more reasonable for the R & D price of NMEs, new molecular entities, to be high since more research is involved. It seems curious, though, that only 17 of the 78 new drug put on the market in 2002 were NMEs. The rest were new versions of old drugs, which should make them less costly, but that's not the case. This chapter also says the amount of new drugs is declining along wityh their quality, which should affect the pricing, as well, but it oddly doesn't. I predict this next chapter will be about the medical value of drugs.


 * Chapter 4** contains information abouthis industry's amount of innovation. The companies say they need the outrageous $802 million per drug to continue research and the thought of new, creative ideas. But twithin the years 1998-2002, only 14% of the drugs manufactured in this time period were NMEs and priority view (thought to be more beneficial compared to other drugs already on the market). Some drugs, though, such as Gleevec, a treatment for leukemia, actually are important additions to the drug market. Unfortunately, most of these "innovations" are only used when older drugs hadn't worked. She goes on to talk about several of these less important drugs that have been created along with the industry's lack of providing researchers with the credebility the deserve. Most of the research drug companies get credit for came from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The research is carried out at places such as universities and biotechnology companies. I predict the next chapter will disuss "me-too" drugs.


 * Chapter 5** talks mainly about drugs with qualities similar to those of drugs already on the market, also known as "me-too" drugs. These drug leftovers make up 77% of the 415 new drugs manufactured between 1998 and 2002. But the last thing a company wants to do is give a head-to-head comparison of a new drug with an older one. That way, manufacturing drugs is easier because the new drug can simply be less effective than the old drug without a problem.
 * Chapter 6-**
 * Chapter 7-**
 * Chapter 8-**
 * Chapter 9-**
 * Chapter 10-**
 * Chapter 11-**
 * Chapter 12**
 * Chapter 13**