Ashes Ashes

Episode 46 - "Pill of Sale" Drug prices, shortages, and barriers to access are out of control, prompting hospitals to join forces to make their own, and spurring the emergence of inventors hoping to chart a future in which life-saving drugs can be made cheaply at home. To lock in high prices, drugmakers have learned to game the American patent system to extend their monopolies, and block generic alternatives for essential medicines. Additionally, pharmaceutical companies have for years withheld data from important clinical trials, skewed the data that is published, and put the health and safety of clinical trial participants at risk. In this episode, we will examine these trends, as well as the historical quirks of drug approval in the United States that have led us down this sick path. Chapters 01:51 Drug prices out of control 08:08 Case story: Inhalers 10:38 The process of drug approval 14:41 American drug patent system and the games companies play 20:23 Behind the scenes: clinical trial results manipu