A lot of the expensive stuff that goes into a drug is 'invisible' at least to the consumer. Companies spend millions of dollars to research a compound and develop it. Only a few candidates then go on to animal and human testing which costs millions more. Much of the money goes to waste because the drug does not fulfill its promise or some unexpected problem shows up and the drig is abandoned. That means that the few that do make it through to regulatory approval for selling to the public must now recoup the costs of their own development and also contribute to cover costs of other failures
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Then of course there are bloated marketing budgets too!
Eventually, drugs come off patent and cheaper generic versions start to be made - that's when you see a more affordable price. Usually the drug is virtually identical in efficacy - but not always - as efficacy can sometimes depend on the exact formulation.
To your second question - it is quite difficult to make drugs that will release slowly and dependably over a long period of time - and it is of course expensive. Also it is rare for them to work by mouth - often an injection or an implant is required. Drugs taken orally are broken down pretty swiftly - as described above. Also, don't forget that if a drug lasted longer it would be easier to forget to take it. Once a day is ok for fitting it into a routine so that it becomes a habit.
I am sure however, that in the future your wish will come true and we will be able to programme our dose and duration to suit our convenience.
I totally agree with the above comments that we turn to drugs a bit too quickly - for both BP and cholesterol, lifestyle changes need to be tried properly and for a sustained period before going on to drugs. But, if you have really tried and you can't get your BP down then it is better to take drugs than to have to take the consequences of stroke or heart disease.
To add to the above... the liver, in its function to detoxify the body, has enzymes that break down drugs for their eventual excretion....the trick in dosage is to provide the appropriate amount of active ingredients to get results. This will vary from person to person and within a 24 hour period. Also influencing this is how normal ones liver function is and if their are any other competing drugs used by the enzyme systems. One example of timing is with statins - some work better if taken in the evening. As for blood pressure medication it takes a week or two to bring the level of drug up to where it is affecting the receptors on the heart/arteriole muscle cells. We also don't appreciate the cost of five to ten years of medical research and testing before a drug is released for general use. Yes, seek approved generic forms when ever possible. Most important as mentioned in above post - life style changes - not only before going on medication but afterwards as well. Many people think they can continue their old ways when on medication.
As been said, many of the pills are now available as generic and are cheap. Why they should be taking daily it is due to the time that the body takes to process them.. some you need to take them twice per day.
Also, as said, its use is too much abused, nobody should go on BP pills without decreasing his salt intake and changing its life style and no one should go on cholesterol pills without checking his thyroid before.
Jesus.
Hi, your thoughts are interesting, but at some point I think you are a bit mistaken.
I don't think the problem is cost pr pill. BP medications and cholesterol medications aren't that expensive, the problems are, in my opinion, that they are used too easily.
As we know, hypertension and high cholesterol are to a high degree caused by a wrong lifestyle. Too much stress and bad diets are to blame in most cases. I think the healtcare system should seek to encourage more exercise, healthy food and cognitive therapy to solve such issues, instead of medications.
If I've had a stressful day at work, nothing is better than a couple of miles of jogging. That's great to relieve stress, and get rid of some sweat/salt. I think most people are able to at least walk at couple of miles, and it really helps lowering the blood pressure and increasing good cholesterol.
In addition, I question the new guidelines arguing that blood pressure should be lower than 140/90 at all times. I know it's not good for the body to sustain high stress levels at all times, but at some point, we all end up stressing. In Norway, doctors will give you a year to change your lifestyle before initiating medical therapy. I hope that applies to US healthcare too, but I don't know. Anyone that knows?