The powerful pharmaceutical industry has recently been hammered by new books denouncing its strategies in keeping U.S. prescription drug prices high and challenging its arguments against proposals to lower them. But now those criticisms are being reinforced by unlikely sources—insiders who know how drug companies work and are willing to speak out publicly against some of their practices. Three such insiders—a top marketing executive in the world's largest drug company, a salesman who promotes products to doctors and an ex-lobbyist who left the business in disgust—recently talked to the AARP Bulletin about their experiences.
Speaking more in sorrow than in anger, all three paint a picture of a once-admired industry that has lost its ethical way, more concerned to protect its bottom line than patients' health
Their comments come at a time when the industry is taking a nosedive in public opinion. Two in three Americans now believe that drug prices are "unreasonably high," and 60 percent favor federal price controls as a solution, according to the latest Harris polls. Only 44 percent think drug companies serve consumers well, down from 79 percent seven years ago, the sharpest drop in esteem of any industry. Big Tobacco, the most reviled group, now rates only 14 points lower than what is increasingly called Big Pharma.
[...]
'It is obvious to me that probably tens of thousands of Americans are dying today because they can't afford drugs. And once you recognize that is the case, if you don't speak up, you're really part of the problem.'
| 