Research universities, many of them public, have joined forces with pharmaceutical companies and Wall Street firms to fight new government efforts to curtail out-of-control drug prices, saying the regulations could stifle innovation.
But these universities are also likely concerned that drug-price reforms would hamper their profits. Case in point: the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has quietly reaped more than a billion dollars in payouts from Xtandi, a lifesaving cancer drug that it developed with the help of government funding and now costs U.S. patients $200,000 a year.
The university is among those working to block the government from lowering the cost of prescription drugs like Xtandi that have been developed with taxpayer money.
Since this first-of-its-kind prostate cancer drug was approved for use in 2012, UCLA has received $1.6 billion in royalty fees, patent income, and reimbursement payments thanks to its development of Xtandi, according to information obtained through the California Public Records Act by The Lever.
As the price of Xtandi […]
Excellent Article! One of the fictions we live by the the United States is the “not for profit” status of Universities and Hospitals. This status is a fraud, and both sectors have been transformed and twisted from serving the public good, into serving private profits. As the article illustrates the old formula perfected by Ronald Reagan, “privatize the profits, but socialize the costs” is alive and well. The American public funds massives amounts of research. Sadly, the public is not permitted to benefit from the investment of its tax dollars. Instead, we are fleeced through the patient system into paying vast amounts for life saving drugs that were developed as a the result of our money. Who will defend such a system except those who directly benefit?