There was a documentary on channel four on British television recently called Dying for Drugs. It is probably the most disturbing and horrific programme I have ever seen and, although I know I will not be able to put this across as well as I would like, I felt compelled to post about it on YouthNOISE, as making a difference is what this site is all about.
The programme was all about the power of major drugs companies and there were several issues raised.
1) Getting volunteers to test new drugs is difficult and drugs comanies often go to developing countries to find people to give the drugs to. They use the desperation of these people during outbreaks of severe diseases to push UNTESTED drugs on them without consent. They then make the excuse that these people cannot write in English so a 'verbal consent' was taken rather than an official written one. Often children are used in these experiments.
2) There is so much money involved in developing and selling a new drug (multi-million dollar deals) that drugs companies are very keen to get new drugs on the market. If there are concerns raised about a drug AFTER it has been put on the market, companies will use downright threatening means to make sure it stays on the shelves. The programme told the story of a doctor who had strong concerns about the safety of a new drug. She had found evidence to suggest it has unwelcome side-effects causing liver damage. When she raised these concerns, she started receiving threatening letters. When she didn't back down, she was sacked from her job as an expert in her field (with claims against her that she could prove were false). Her case is not unique.
3) Threats are not just made against individuals - ok this is complicated but I'll give it a shot. Many countries follow international patenting laws on drugs that state that when a company develops a new drug, they hold the rights to that drug for 20 years, and it has to be sold at the price that they name. This means that if they are overcharging, they face no competition from other companies developing the same drug and selling it at a lower price. They can charge whatever they want, for life-saving drugs, and go unquestioned.
Some countries, like India, have patenting laws that allow companies to get around this and develop drugs at their own prices. Sure enough, some companies are able to sell good-quality, often life-saving drugs at a price vastly lower than the big pharms. They can sell pills for $1 that big pharms are charging $27 for, making them available to people who couldn't possibly affored them at the asking price of the big pharms.
But this does not look set to last long. India is being pressured to change its patenting laws so that these companies will have to sell drugs at the price names by the big pharms. An Indian politician objected to this, and was fired.
Because big pharms (big drug companies) have SO much money they have a lot of power. Their huge wealth means that they have the support of European and American governments. When countries like India are not complying to what they want, the American/European governments threaten to cut off trade with those countries. So failing to do as the big pharms dictate can threaten a country's entire economy. Their ability to threaten a country in this way means that soon there will only be a handful of massive, multi-million corporations deciding the price of drugs sold everywhere in the world.
4) Sorry this is taking so long, but finally I've got to he consequences of all this. Drug companies can charge whatever the hell they like for life saving drugs. They can make, legitimately, as much profit as they want without competition. They have a right to ask these prices, they are a business and they are selling a product. But in doing so they are putting a price on life. And they are putting vital drugs out of reach of the poorest (and consequently, often most in need) people of the world. Desperate for a drug that could save their lives, people are literally dying because they cannot afford them. The programme followed leukemia patients in China desperately campaigning for drugs that could save them, but were beyond their means. They had no effect.
The programme finished by following a 12-year-old boy in Honduras, dying of aids (there is a picture of him on the website I'll give at the bottom of this). He could not eat because aids had made him weakened to a disease which took hold in his throat. A weekly supply of tablets to get rid of the disease cost a substantial amount more than the weekly income of his whole family. He could not eat, was a walking skeleton and his family had to watch him die in front of their eyes. He died on film.
It was the most frustrating thing I have ever seen because it DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. These drugs can be sold, and make a profit, for so much less, but they are not, and it is all because of the greed of the big pharms. Business is business, and the aim of big businesses is to make as much profit as possible. But at the cost of human life? There are profits, there are reasonable profits, there are big profits, and there are obscene profits. No family should have to watch a loved one die and feel helpless to try and save them, for the sake of an obscene profit. Drug companies should not be able to control peoples' fate to that extent and they have to be stopped. Drugs can, and should be sold at AFFORDABLE prices. The fact that my government and the American government supports the big pharms is particularly galling… As is the corrupt means they use to make sure their position is secure The overall message I got was this: These businesses are not concerned about saving lives. They are concerned about making money, and as much of it as possible.
The channel 4 website below has information on campaigning groups and ways to help… Thanks if you read through the whole of this post, I know it's a lot of information and you have to trust me that I got it from a reliable source. I hope I was coherent and got the situation across all right.
http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/D/dying_for_drugs/index.htmlBex
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