Rapid Responses to:

NEWS ROUNDUP: Charles Marwick Federal funding for comparative drug studies not in US budget BMJ 2004; 328: 603 [Full text]

Rapid Responses: Submit a response to this article

Rapid Responses published:

Comparative studies: What is the real cost?

Cameron J Williams   (16 March 2004)

Comparative studies: What is the real cost? 16 March 2004
Cameron J Williams, Paramedic Melbourne, Australia. 3104 Send response to journal: Re: Comparative studies: What is the real cost?	Editor - Comparative studies are an essential part of medicine and should not be governed by their financial impact on any organisation. The outcome for the patient should be the most important issue when a drug is being produced. The cost to government bodies such as Medicare would have to go up if products became more expensive which reflects a financial issue.1 The fact that the President’s 2004-5 budget has eliminated funding for comparative drug studies suggests that cost of the drug is more important than continuing these studies. 1 The drug companies have come straight out saying that to conduct studies to find a better acting drug may not be cost effective. 1 This is due to the fact that an older drug may be far cheaper to produce. 1 Bearing these facts in mind it seems that better or less harmful drugs may never be developed due to government and private business profits. If this continues it will be not only detrimental to many patients but may also stunt the progression and quality of pharmacological research in the future. As an Ambulance Paramedic I am constantly in contact with the elderly who invariably have bags or draws full of drugs, many of which are out of date or have the same action with different names. They also seem to stockpile their drugs, apparently filling their prescriptions time and time again before they are required. I believe that this issue of wasting government funded drugs should be addressed and rectified as a method of taking the financial pressure off government organisations. More regulation of these government funded drugs by either Doctors, Pharmacists or a specific body may be required in an effort to keep adequate count of outgoing drugs. The savings in this area may contribute to the continuation of comparative studies, therefore enabling the quality rather than the cost of the product to be of utmost importance. References 1. Marwick, Charles. (2004) News roundup: Federal funding for comparative drug studies not in US budget. British Medical Journal: Washington BMJ 2004;328:603 (13 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7440.603 Competing interests: None declared