Groups Call for Better Drug Pricing

Concerned groups yesterday called for a more reasonable prices for both patented and generic drugs. "On average, pharmaceutical companies spend US$800 million developing an innovative drug before putting it on the market and they have only eight years to make a profit out of it [before generic versions are allowed]," said Hsieh Yen-yau, vice president of Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center. "Generic drugs, on the other hand, can be sold at a cheaper price because they take less money and time to develop."