I always ask people how many drugs the FDA approves in a given year. Most people guess in the hundreds. In fact, it’s normally 18-26. Out of these new drugs, about 75% of them are me-too drugs. Me-too drugs are marketing gimmicks– minor variations of drugs already on the market that can be re-branded and sold to the public as the next greatest thing. Most of the top selling drugs on the market are me-too drugs. They’re no better than generics. They’re simply drug companies selling something for hundreds of dollars a month when drugs exist that do the same thing for $4 a month.
For a more detailed analysis of the shallowness of Big Pharma, please read this interview with Dr. Marcia Angell, the former editor of the most prestigious medical journal in the world, The New England Journal of Medicine. Your eyes will be opened. I promise.