
Crisis Looms in Antibiotics as Drug Makers Go Bankrupt - HarryHirsch
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/25/health/antibiotics-new-resistance.html
======
bilekas
> The problem is straightforward: The companies that have invested billions to
> develop the drugs have not found a way to make money selling them

I call BS. I would like to see the subsidised govment sponsored investment
that was made for the research. I don't have a recent study but in 2009 is was
found apprix 1/3 of investment was federal funded.

2017 ~50% _EDIT_ : [https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/data-check-us-
govern...](https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/data-check-us-government-
share-basic-research-funding-falls-below-50)

With the cost of pharma in the US, the larger companies just pillaging
insurance companies, it's no surprise that smaller companies just get trashed.

But that's not because of the R&D costs so don't try sell that nonsense.

But hey, once any pharma company can complain about not being able to stay
afloat, in-come medicare because the antibiotics are considered required by
the WHO, and then wow, the price to then suddenly sky rocket. At the cost of
the Tax Payer.

Pharma companies are both some of the greatest, noble and at the same time,
others in the industry are the most disgusting people in the world.

~~~
jjeaff
Even if government subsidizes are half of all r&d, that doesn't mean it isn't
one of the largest costs for these companies. Additionally, I'd wager the
biggest pharma companies are getting the lionshare of the subsidies.

And if it isn't r&d spend what else is it? Marketing costs aren't nearly as
front loaded as r&d. In other words, if marketing isn't paying off, you can
cut back. If r&d isn't, you already spent it and you are in trouble.

------
nine_zeros
Hell no! Try paying fewer hundreds ofillions to execs and divert that savings
to research, sales and marketing.

Everything will be magically financially viable again

