General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Who here thinks drug companies (pharmaceuticals) are altruistic... [View all]ProfessorGAC
(76,635 posts)...isn't germane.
It's the cost of development that is incurred long before that first pill is made.
Sure, the unit cost of that pill is likely quite low. But, a "typical" (industry nonspecific) margin wouldn't begin to cover the R&D, and other SG&A.
You say it's hard to find actual cost. That's true!
But, it's because the hidden burden lies in the 5 prior years of development, legal, registration & approval.
The margins are likely set based on overall, moving average cash flow.
Assigning that to the unit cost of an individual drug would be tricky!
Are many drugs overpriced? Certainly.
But, I'm not sure figuring out what's a fair margin for a new, patented offering is going to be easy.
The bigger issue is on drugs with extended patents (which shouldn't be allowed, and don't get me started) or have expired patents being price manipulated. (Think Shrkeli)