Drug trials in developing countries raise questions

This article by thegaurdian highlights certain information that were already known (at least to me). The information that gets the most emphasis is that concerning the trials of already licensed medicines that are carried out to increase sales instead of to improve the drug (Boseley, 2012). Questions are now being raised about the usefulness and real purpose of drug trials for me-too drugs (Boseley, 2012), drugs that copy the make-up of already approved and marketed drugs.

Taken from http://www.riskmanagementmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/pharmaceuticals.jpg

The trials for the me-too drugs is unethical and a waste of time. Well, maybe it is not a complete waste of time because it allows for drug companies to competitively price their drugs (hopefully making it cheaper for consumers/patients to buy). But I do believe that a focus on drug trials of this sort take away research and potential drug trials that could actually help cure current incurable diseases. Drug research should be done to counter attack the diseases that currently have no true cure. But it is like a business out there in the real world. A company may spend millions of dollars conducting a research experiment that will yield no results, but they need (and also want) money. So instead of focusing on the next cure for cancer, companies spend their time making me-too drugs that have been on the market and will sell well. This drives researchers into research to make money, rather than driving them into research to find actual cures, like what used to be done in the past.

I guess it can be argued that perhaps stem cells are the new line of hopeful defense against this battle to find a cure for an incurable disease. Who knows.

Reference:

Boseley, S. (2012, June 12). Doctors raise questions over drug trials in developing countries. Retrieved June 15, 2012, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jun/12/doctors-raise-questions-drug-trials