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News Release - July 20,
1999 AIDS ACTION: EXCESSIVE
MARKETING Washington, DC -- AIDS Action released a report today, "Silence = $", which exposes rising marketing and advertising budgets as the cause of high AIDS drug prices, not research and development costs as the pharmaceutical industry claims. AIDS Action's analysis of the 15 largest pharmaceutical companies' annual reports found that marketing, advertising and administrative spending is three times more than research and development (R&D) spending. Direct consumer advertising specifically is increasing at a rate three times more than R&D spending. AIDS Action's report also shows the focus on advertising is occurring as the pharmaceutical industry enjoys unmatched profits, overshadowing all other industries in three leading profit indicators. Even worse, taxpayers are footing the bill for programs and tax credits that pay for R&D as well as the drugs themselves and then get hit with prescription bills that are among the highest in the world. AIDS drugs cost individuals as much as $15,000 per year, about the cost of a GM Saturn. "Imagine if General Motors could get the American taxpayer to heavily subsidize its research and development, fund government programs that purchase half of its cars and then get many of those same taxpayers to buy a new car each and every year. Good work if you can get it, right? Well, the American pharmaceutical industry's got it," said Daniel Zingale, AIDS Action executive director. AIDS Action strongly criticized the pharmaceutical industry's prioritization of advertising over R&D, pointing to a study that shows America's physicians want less or no direct consumer advertising by a ratio of about 3 to 1. The report also shows that an 11% reduction in drug prices would lead to better access to life-saving AIDS drugs. "The crew of the Titanic didn't need to post ads to get people onto the lifeboats. They needed to get more lifeboats to the people," added Zingale. The question of which drugs to take should be influenced by physicians, not the slickest and most expensive ads Madison Avenue can devise." AIDS Action urged the pharmaceutical industry to voluntarily lower prices, limit the growth of its marketing budgets to the levels of R&D spending growth and allow for the development of generic versions of AIDS drugs in the developing world. AIDS Action also urged the U.S. government to allow for the reimportation of AIDS drugs. Click here for white
paper, "Silence = $" |