Big Pharma, Big Robbery: Your Taxes Help Fund Their Profits

in #money5 years ago (edited)

I bet you love having your taxes paying for something even if you don't want it? You must also really love big pharma that's being funded by tax dollars and raking in the profits from high costs, right?


Chris Potter/flickr, CC BY 2.0

Big pharma is out to make money. Some things are ridiculous, like a new FDA approved L-glutamine based drug called Endari that costs $44,000 for a years supply. But anyone can get L-glutamine for the same health benefits for $120 for a year's supply. In years past we even saw pills get pushed to exaggerated highs, like Daraprim which costs $750 per pill, paid by Medicaid at a whopping average of $35,000.

Big pharma is gouging us with their prices. And this big robbery is compounded by the fact that the government is helping the industry fund research with your taxes. The New Republic has gone into the history of how we got here. Some of the highlights are that of 210 meds that were approved from 2010-2016 by the FDA, they all got funding from the government, coming out of research done in government or university labs.

In times past, companies didn't get the patents for drugs the government funded in their labs: the government kept those patents. Things changed in 1968 to allow the billion dollar profits of the industry to emerge. The Institutional Patent Agreement program set up by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) allowed non-profits like universities to claim licenses for drugs developed using government funds.

Before that, inventors using NIH funds had to assign patents to the governments. But now they could just sell them to the big pharma industry. In 1980, the University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act granted universities, non-profits and small business the rights to own, patent and commercialize inventions that were carried out with government money.

The universities get the government money to do research, invent new drugs, or just take other substances and attach "proven" uses to them, and sell the patents to big pharma. The government takes your money and gives it to universities to fund research, and then the big winners are the drug companies who make billions in the end. It's quite a lovely turnover for them.

1980 also also saw a change in biotechnology. The Supreme Court decided that genes could altered and developed into genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which could then be patented. Most of us know how some of that genius turned out for Monsanto on one end, and the poor farmers who got sued on the other end.

More "Acts" get passed that favor big pharma and their profit-seeking price gouging. Like the Orphan Drug Act which provides incentives to big pharma companies to develop drugs for rare diseases. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act of 1992 gave big pharma more power, as they funded the FDA which is supposed to oversee the industry (no conflicts there right?). The FDA Act of 1997 then made it easier to advertise directly to consumers.


pixabay

The years of changes have led to the drug monopolies that were fostered, and now are protected, by the government. Many of these drugs are dangerous, and/or don't work as claimed. But people believe int he hope and dream that is marketed to them. On the flip-side, natural alternatives are demeaned and sometimes demonized. Federal restrictions and regulations come into play, all to protect the drug companies the their bottom line.

They've done it with cannabis for so long. Now that proof of it's benefits is being cemented in scientific research, big pharma is capitalizing on it and making drugs from cannabis. Supplements are being turned into drugs and selling them for a hefty profit compared to what it would be if there was a real free market. And now they want to take supplements away, supplanting natural remedies, further controlling us and forcing us into the corrupt clutches of big pharma even further.


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Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.


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As more and more people become dependent of Big Brother to take care of their every need it is no wonder we are explouited all the time. The money that drug companies steal from all of us is our fault to some degree. It seems to me that the possible side effects of the drugs they sell us are more dangerous than the condition itself. Side effects from the drug consumed to remedy the condition are numerous.
We need to be proactive when it comes to our health. So many of our medical conditions are self inflicted through diet, lack of exercise, smoking, substance abuse, and the list could go on.
There are so many alternatives to popping a pill to aleviate what is bothering you. I for one have eliminated medications for both high blood pressure and no longer take any medication for cholestrol. The cholestrol medication I had taken for about 6 months made getting around a struggle. Every joint in my body hurt. It took me 6 months for the light to go on. Maybe it was the meds I was on. Sure enough, my mobility was back to normal within a few weeks after I stopped taking the medication. This is what triggered my interest in an alternative way of dealing with my health. The secret is in your diet.
I read and became aware that there are natural remedies to many of our inflictions. Listed below is a good place to start to educate yourself and to a large degree take control back.

@newmarkethealth.com
@vitalhealthsecrets.com
@nucific.com>
Health Science Institute https://hsionline.com

HSI is a great place to get started. They provided me with two books that proved to be invaluable. 1. MIRACLES FROM THE VAULT : Anthology of Underground Cures. 2.THE NEW MIRACLES: An Updated Anthology of Underground Cures.

Another book you might want to read is Field Guide To MEDICINAL WILD PLANTS, by Bradford Angier.

If you are tired of lining the pockets of big drug companies, you do have a choice.

Side effects can often be worse, but not always. And yes, most are indeed self-inflicted like bad eating, smoking and other factors that we do have control over. The quick fix of pill-popping is another demonstration of a lack of self-control and doing the hard work, as if a pill is the cure-all for life's issues. I'm glad you learned you learned about the negative effect they were inducing in you and found better ways to cope. Thanks for the feedback.

They got us coming and going. Of course, we have to borrow most of the money for the research, then borrow the money again to pay for the patent on the other end. win win...for the politicians, pharmaceuticals, bankers, hospitals etc. Unfortunately one of the drawbacks to the internet is an overload of claims regarding natural substances, much of it misleading on purpose to create confusion and the idea that one needs to rely on pharma.

Yeah, anyone can make any claim :/ But cannabis is very effective for cancer, factual there at least ;) I agree with the confusion to lead to "trusted" pharma as. It's that way with truth. Too much info, overload, bah, just go listen to mainstream media and trust them :P

shhh... don't tell people about cannabis.. it's 'dangerous'.. they must only take synthetic forms. lol

such exploitation of souls is only possible when they are conditioned heavily to deny themselves and each other ... to deny their own power. even the 'boy scouts', intended to teach 'survival' tends to mostly teach domination and adherence to hierarchy .. mixed in with some time in the woods and slight fear of being buggered by a disturbed scout master.

but hey, at least we can speak about 'alternatives' to the death industry without being burnt at the stake now - unlike the 'witches' from past centuries.

Hehe, unless you're an alternative health page that got purged from FB months ago :/ The vice grip is tightening.

big government will always get in the way of better healthcare. People swear that Government provides the best healthcare, but how ignorant they are when they realize the government is whats keeping people from actual cures.. Afterall, the US government does own some patents that would cure certain forms of cancer and STD's but they just wont release it. I wonder why...

Yup, it's a big sham on many levels. Cannabis banned for how long? sigh...

I agree. It's like one of the biggest robberies filled with greed.
That is why I try to stay away from it as much as I can and that is why I got into natural way of healing with plant-based medicine and I am so glad I did.

Thank you @krnel for sharing the truth about the big pharma.

Way to go! Plants are the superior way. Eating plants only is the best way for health.

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The Colombian cartels must look at this scheme, green with envy...

Yeah, they copied the source :P

en lo personal a mi lo que mas me impacta es que las farmacéuticas no buscan curar nuestras enfermedades si no al contrario mantenernos enfermos para así seguirnos vendiendo sus medicamentos y seguirse lucrando.

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