Expert: Dr.Paul Skett - 12/4/2003

Question
Hello Dr. Skett -

I don't know if you can answer my question, but here goes:

I'm wondering if there is a way to learn what the actual production costs are of certain / any / all medications, versus the prices we pay at the pharmacy. I'm guessing this information isn't available, and in fact may be "classified", since pharmaceutical companies are private corporations.  But perhaps there is a resource out there somewhere, not generally known, that offers a clue.

Thanks in advance for your time.

Lee Anne  (who just paid $300 today for stomach pills for my husband)

Answer
Lee Anne,

As you suspect, this sort of information is not freely available - generally, however, the cost of manufacture is very small compared to the cost to you (probably $1-2 for your $200 worth at most).

The big cost to the manufacturer is research & development cost - the cost to get the medicine to market is about $600-800 million - they need to get this back before making any profit and the patent doesn't last very long.

Hope this helps.

Paul