Here's a list of average consumer prices for some important drugs versus cost of active ingredients. The active ingredients are usually processed overseas by contract and shipped to the big pharma company, which then makes and markets the pills.
Celebrex:100 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60 -- Percent markup: 21,712%
Claritin:10 mg - Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71 -- Percent markup: 30,306%
Keflex:250 mg - Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88 -- Percent markup: 8,372%
Lipitor:20 mg - Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80 -- Percent markup: 4,696%
Norvasc:10 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14 - Percent markup: 134,493%
Paxil:20 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60 -- Percent markup: 2,898%
Prevacid:30 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01 -- Percent markup: 34,136%
Prilosec: 20 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52 -- Percent markup: 69,417%
Prozac:20 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11 -- Percent markup: 224,973%
Tenormin:50 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13 -- Percent markup: 80,362%
Vasotec:10 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20 -- Percent markup: 51,185%
Xanax:1 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024 -- Percent markup: 569,958%
Zestril:20 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20 -- Percent markup: 2,809%
Zithromax:600 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78 -- Percent markup: 7,892%
Zocor:40 mg - Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63 -- Percent markup: 4,059%
Zoloft:50 mg - Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75 -- Percent markup: 11,821%
What can one say about this except that it's free-market health care turned into free-market madness? P.T. Barnum was right. There's a sucker born every minute--and most of them apparently live in America.
(Much thanks to Sharon L. Davis, Budget Analyst, U.S. Department of Commerce, for the tabulation.)
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