Tag Archive for patent

Why Drug Prices are so High

October 18, 2019 Comments Off on Why Drug Prices are so High

A new drug enters the market with a 20-year monopoly before a generic version of it can be sold.  This is the time period in which the pharmaceutical company recoups the amount it spent in developing the drug.  In other words, unlike your small business, they get to  charge a high price for that little pill until they break even.  If that’s the case, why don’t they drop the price after 20 years?  The answer is simple: more profits.

Yes, a generic company can make a cheaper version and challenge the 20-year window through the FDA.  It’s really a patent challenge, claiming that there’s a flaw in the patent or it isn’t valid for some other reason.  Of course, the big-pharma company counter-sues  leading to lengthy and expensive litigation.  If they think they might lose or don’t want to take the chance, they just settle it all with an agreement that the generic company will drop the suit and hold off introducing their more affordable pill, and, in exchange, big-pharma will pay them a tidy sum.  Everybody wins, right?

Wait a minute.  What about us consumers who depend on the medicine, especially people who, because of the expense, must often choose between life-saving medications and food or rent?  And doesn’t that also add to the high costs of our medical system?  Mmmmmmmmm.

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A Day to Waffle

August 24, 2015 Comments Off on A Day to Waffle

Hey, it’s Monday.  Let’s start our week with some silliness.  Or at least a hot, syrupy waffle.  After all, today is National Waffle Day, celebrating the day in 1869 when a patent was granted to Cornelius Swarthout from Troy, New York, for his waffle-baking device.  Back then, it was a simple covered griddle that had to be flipped on the coal stove.  A far cry from our modern electric device.

While you munch, here’s a short history lesson from Mr. Breakfast.com:

13th Century A.C. – Ancient Greeks cook flat cakes between two metal plates. These early waffles were called obleios and were primarily savory in nature, prepared with cheeses and herbs.

1620 – The pilgrims bring Dutch “wafles” to America.

1735 – The word “waffle” – with two “f”s – appears in English print for the first time.

Late 1800s – Thomas Jefferson returns to the U.S. from France with a long handled, patterned waffle iron.

1869 – Cornelius Swarthout patents the first U.S. Waffle Iron.

1953 – Frank Dorsa’s Eggo Frozen Waffles are sold in Supermarkets for the first time.

1964-65 – Brussels restaurateur Maurice Vermersch brings his wife’s Brussels Waffle recipe to the World’s Fair in New York. The fluffy yeast-infused waffle becomes a huge hit and becomes known as the Belgium waffle.

[Next time you’re asked your opinion on this breakfast treat, give a straight answer—without waffling.]

 

 

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Why that Rx Costs So Much

March 25, 2013 Comments Off on Why that Rx Costs So Much

A new drug enters the market with a 20-year monopoly before a generic version of it can be sold.  This is the time period in which the pharmaceutical company recoups the amount it spent in developing the drug.  In other words, unlike your small business, they get to  charge a high price for that little pill until they break even.  If that’s the case, why don’t they drop the price after 20 years?  The answer is simple: more profits.

Yes, a generic company can make a cheaper version and challenge the 20-year window through the FDA.  It’s really a patent challenge, claiming that there’s a flaw in the patent or it isn’t valid for some other reason.  Of course, the big-pharma company counter-sues  leading to lengthy and expensive litigation.  If they think they might lose or don’t want to take the chance, they just settle it all with an agreement that the generic company will drop the suit and hold off introducing their more affordable pill, and, in exchange, big-pharma will pay them a tidy sum.  Everybody wins, right?

Wait a minute.  What about us consumers who depend on the medicine, especially people who, because of the expense, must often choose between life-saving medications and food or rent?  And doesn’t that also add to the high costs of our medical system?  Mmmmmmmmm.

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