Review: Dramatic change in the drug industry is inevitable

A brief review of The $800 Million Pill (with a nice picture of the book jacket cover) appeared in the Sunday business section of the Washington Post. S.P. writes that "despite the pharmaceutical industry's desperate efforts to keep things as they are, it is becoming clear that the way drugs are priced, and drug research is financed, will change dramatically over the next decade."

There's a pattern in the early reviews. (For my response to previous reviews, click here.) Reading the book convinces reporters that the industry engages in widespread skullduggery in the name of innovation. The reviewers then raise minor quibbles.

If this pattern holds, the book will have succeeded in my fundamental quest: To change the terms of the debate regarding drug pricing and its relationship to pharmaceutical innovation. That, in this author's humble opinion, will be a tremendous victory for those fighting for fair drug prices and for new cures.