DRUGS/PHARMA: “U.S. sales of blockbuster prostate-cancer drugs have dropped sharply since the start of a federal investigation into charities that help patients pay for these drugs, a sign of how much the pharmaceutical industry relies on these foundations to support revenue.
Drugmakers donate hundreds of millions of dollars a year to charities that help U.S. patients cover out-of-pocket costs for drugs. The assistance helps pharmaceutical companies, too, by ensuring patients fill their prescriptions, while insurance picks up the rest of the tab.
Every $1 million donated to charities can lead to up to $21 million in sales for drug companies, according to Citi Research. Because very few companies make prostate-cancer drugs, they tend to donate proportionally more to these charities than manufacturers of other treatments do.”
-Jonathan D. Rockoff, “U.S. Probe Sheds Light on Charities’ Role in Boosting Drug Sales,” The Wal Street Journal online, June 9, 2017 05:30am