Now that the price of drugs is getting higher and higher, people need to consider the price if they want to buy drugs when they are sick, is this phenomenon normal?
Guide
A man in Wuhan, Hubei Province, bought a box of cold medicine for 220 yuan, but there were only two pills, but the instructions were bigger than the newspaper.
Event details
On December 15, in Wuhan, Hubei, a man went to a pharmacy to buy medicine because of a cold, and bought a box of cold medicine with a price tag of 220 yuan on the recommendation of the pharmacy clerk. After taking it home, I found that there were only two pills in this box, and the price of each pill reached 110 yuan.
The man was shocked and confused by this, and he sighed: "200 yuan, this medicine! These two pills cost 220 yuan, and one costs 110."
What made him laugh even more was that he found that the pill box also contained an oversized instruction manual, which was even larger than a standard newspaper and densely printed with text.
The thickness and amount of content of this manual is surprising, and some people even joked, "If you buy a newspaper, this manual will cost 100 yuan, oops, what a big manual."
Drug situation
This cold medicine is called "Sufuda" (mabaloxavir tablets), and it is a medicine jointly developed by Shionogi and Roche in Japan. In the process of research and development, a lot of money and manpower have been invested, so it is reasonable that the price of "Sufuda" is higher.
In addition, the cost of production is also an important factor affecting the price of drugs. Since "Sufuda" may involve complex technology and high-quality production control, this will increase the manufacturing cost.
Netizen reaction
This incident sparked heated discussions among netizens, and netizens said that this instruction manual is a little too big, and is the two pills really worth so much money?
Netizen 1: "I can't read this manual for a week."
Netizen 2: Spend 220, the formula is given to you, what do you want to do?
Netizen 3: This instruction can't describe the efficacy of these two drugs in a thousand words.
Netizen 4: Is it possible to let you read the manual, and the instructions will be fine if you don't finish the doctor?
Netizen 5: Macaba card
Netizen 6: It's expensive in the manual, so many words [covering your face].
Netizen 7: Actually, this is only worth 20 yuan, and the manual is 200, if you eat well, you will have time to study the role of the manual, and it will be okay if you don't eat well, the manufacturer will say that you did not use it according to the manual.
Netizen 8: After reading the manual, I sweated directly, and I just got a cold.
Netizen 9: 220 yuan to buy two pills, the pharmacist earns you 218 yuan with tears [covering your face] [covering your face] [covering your face]
Of course, there are also professional doctors who explained, "If you have had a good dose of nail flu, you will know what the effect is, it is really expensive, and it really has an effect." ”
The issue of drug prices
Now when we go to buy medicines, we will find that the prices of some medicines are rising, which is a complex issue involving many factors
1. Drug R&D costs: R&D of new drugs requires huge capital investment, including clinical trials, safety evaluation, efficacy verification, etc., and these costs will ultimately be reflected in the price of the drug. For the treatment of some unique or rare conditions, the price of the drug is often higher due to the high cost of research and development and the limited sales target.
2. Patent protection and generic drugs: Patented drugs can enjoy market exclusivity during the patent protection period, which allows pharmaceutical companies to recover their R&D investment at a high price. However, once the patent expires, other pharmaceutical companies can produce generic drugs, increasing market competition, which usually reduces the price of the drug
3. Market supply and demand: The price of drugs is also affected by market supply and demand. For example, during the high incidence of certain seasonal diseases, the demand for related drugs increases significantly, and the price will naturally rise.
The reason why the drug insert is large
1. Variety: Drug instructions usually contain detailed descriptions of dozens of categories, such as drug name, ingredients, characteristics, indications, specifications, dosage, adverse reactions, etc. In order to accommodate more content in the instructions, drug manufacturers can only continue to reduce the font size and expand the paper within the existing paper range
2. For different groups of people: Drug instructions are divided into prescription drugs (Rx) and over-the-counter drugs (OTC), Rx instructions are generally very long, while OTC instructions are generally not that long. The instructions for the Rx are primarily intended for medical professionals.
epilogue
The price of the drug should match the content of the label, and the drug manufacturer should be more transparent about the price and ingredients of the drug so that consumers can make more informed purchasing decisions.
At the same time, it also called on relevant departments to strengthen supervision to ensure fair competition in the drug market.
As consumers, when buying drugs, in addition to considering the efficacy of drugs, we also need to pay attention to the price of drugs and the reasons behind them, so as to make a more rational choice.