Friday, January 09, 2004

Changing Structure Of The Drug Industry
An editorial that serves as an introuction to the latest issue of Health Affairs, which has as its theme "The Drug Industry: A Closer Look" - "Rising research and development (R&D) expenditures by pharmaceutical companies are, in part, a consequence of changing industry structure, particularly the rise of the biotechnology sector. The creation of a market for biomedical science and increased vertical competition within the industry are likely to spur innovation and raise productivity, but they also could induce socially wasteful spending and weaken academic science. With innovation increasingly dependent on financially vulnerable firms and complex contractual arrangements, R&D investment might be becoming more sensitive to price controls or other cost containment measures." Other articles of note include The Political Economy Of FDA Drug Review, How Much Should Medicare Pay For Drugs?, and Restricted Drug Access In Medicaid. At times lately, articles at the Health Affairs web site have been very slow to load, so be patient.