For most people, pharmaceutical product development remains a huge mystery and rightfully so, because it is a very complex process. However; everyone benefits from the work that pharmaceutical product developers do when they shop at a drug store for anything from antibiotic ointment for a cut, to powerful prescription drugs for an illness. The search for new drugs and products to help people stay healthy never stops, because even when a cure for a disease is found, there are still diseases such as cancer for which a cure remains illusive.



Years of Searching - Years of Testing

Even after a new drug is discovered that is the cure for a disease, it can take up to a decade before it makes it to the consumer where it is needed. This is because, the FDA requires that all drugs be thoroughly tested, so no consumer can be hurt by the new drug.

The reason it takes so long for these tests to be completed, is that all drugs have to be studied for their long term as well as short term side effects. Not all drugs pass muster and if the side effects are found to be worse then the disease itself then the drug and all the work that went into it are discarded.

Pharmaceutical Product Development Costs - Who Pays ?

So, it is not hard to see why prescription drugs can be expensive. This particularly holds true for drugs that cure rare diseases. If only a few people in a society are going to be buying a drug and using it for a cure then how is a drug company going to pay for the development costs that easily run into the millions of dollars?

Should the cost be passed on to people that buy drugs for more common diseases, resulting in higher costs for them? Should the taxpayer pick up some of the cost of research? These are all questions that we all must face as pharmaceutical product development work moves into to the future.