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Business Ethics Chapter 4
Corruption usa pharmaceutical industry
Business ethics
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Americans are bombarded with advertisements by the pharmaceutical industry with pharmacies on busy street corners, television commercials, magazine ads, as well as advertisements flashing across the computer screen while surfing the internet. They are all declaring the latest breakthroughs that medicine has to offer. In 2004, it was reported the prescription drug industry spent $57.5 billion in advertising, profiting $235.4 billion in overall drug sales (“Big Pharma,” 2008). In 2010 the sales increased to $307.4 billion (Stringer, 2011). This equates to 43% in total global market sales which spells big business for pharmaceuticals (“Big Pharma,” 2008). Usually, where there is big money involved, greed ensues followed by unethical business practices and the pharmaceutical industry is no exception. The purpose of this paper is to look at four questionable business practices common to the industry, the ethical theories behind them, followed by recommendations to change those practices and ultimately improve the culture within the pharmaceutical industry and America’s trust. The Pharmaceutical industry is known for its “kickbacks” to health care providers. Many of the leading corporations in the prescription drug industry like Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Eli Lilly & Co, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, among others have paid billions in fines under the U.S. government’s False Claims Act for such questionable practices (“Americord Denounces,” 2013). These “kickbacks” are gifts or bribes given to influence doctors in prescribing their drugs to patients in place of the competition. These bribes include, cash payments, all-expense-paid family trips, sexual favors, among others (“Big Pharma’s... ... middle of paper ... ... Nov. 2013. . Olssen, Douglas P. "Ethical Issures: Nurses and the Pharmaceutical Industry: Part 2." Better Resources for Better Care 2nd ser. 109 (2009): 86-87. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. . "Painkiller Pill Mills and Corporate Responsibility." LexisNexis Academic. LexisNexis, 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. . Shaw, William H. Business Ethics. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011. 19-52. Print. Stringer, Kaye. "Naturalnews.com Printable Article." US Spent $307 Billion on Prescription Drugs in 2010. Naturalnews.com, 27 Apr. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. .
The pharmaceutical industry is a major contributor to the U.S. economy, especially the biopharmaceutical sector because it creates professional jobs. The industry also serves as the “foundation upon which one of the United States’ most dynamic innovation and business ecosystems is built,” according to the Battelle Technology Partnership Practice. In the paper the main focus will be PAREXEL International Corporation that is a leading global biopharmaceutical services organization that offers “a broad
Industry Definition According to the Encyclopedia of Global Industries, the Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing industry can be defined as an industry that produces products or means for human and veterinary treatment. There two main segments of products in the pharmaceutical industry: pharmaceutical preparations and therapies. Pharmaceutical preparations include prescription or “ethical” drugs— products geared towards dental, medical, or veterinary professions, as well as “over-the-counter”
The pharmaceutical industry has become a chief player in the marketing of their products. As its leading companies have such a strong presence in Ireland, and the fact that its marketing policies are forced to vary from country to country, I found it to be a very appropriate topic. It is a highly regulated industry, governed by different global statutory bodies, each incorporating different laws, which marketers must be aware of. I discuss how different global legislation can affect marketing strategies
leverage opportunities. With current healthcare system under government’s scrutiny to lower healthcare costs, pharmaceutical industry is also greatly affected. Political forces have a major effect on this industry in ways of price control, incentives for competition, introduction of parallel trade, etc. (academia.edu) Economy is also a significant force affecting the pharmaceutical industry in multiple ways. For example: recent global economic crisis lead to diminished spending on healthcare.
One thing is guaranteed to happen; people will always get sick. Diseases and bacteria are always changing and the human body’s immune system isn’t always prepared to fight it off. The pharmaceutical industry knows this, and that’s why they are a multi-billion dollar industry. Today, you will see a pill that will virtually cure every kind of “disease” out there whether it’s physical, emotional, or neurological. What is a “disease”? Supposedly if you have constant headaches, you have a disease. If
Introduction The Indian Pharmaceutical Industry is in the front rank of India’s science based industries. It is a highly organized sector. The Industry is estimated to be of worth $ 4.5 billion, with growth of about 8 to 9% annually. It ranks very high in terms of technology, quality and range of manufactured medicines. From simple headache pills to heavy antibiotics and complex cardiac compounds, almost each and every type of medicine is now made indigenously. It meets around 70% of the country's
Market Niches and the Pharmaceutical Industry Three men were asked to race in a competition across a desert for a grand prize. Of the three men, the two strongest and fastest start running franticly into the desert in hopes to beat the other. The third man stood calmly and watched the race for a moment and then began to walk in the other direction with a smile on his face. A judge of the race stopped the man walking in the other direction and asked him, “Where are you going? The race is that
to think. Pharmaceutical companies are particularly ruthless, many of them spending millions of dollars per year to convince doctors to prescribe their drugs and to convince consumers that their specific brand of drug is needed in order to cure their ailments. For instance, they may present symptoms that are perfectly harmless, and lead potential citizens to believe that, because of these symptoms, they are "sick" and in need of medication. In some instances, the pharmaceutical industry in the United
The pharmaceutical industry produces drugs for both diseases and medical conditions. There are three types of drugs; curable, preventative and palliative. Pharmaceutical companies spent an estimated 51.1 billion in 2013 to discover and develop new medicines. More than 300 new drug products were approved by the FDA in the last decade. Now 2900 different drugs are in the process of being studied in the US. (http://www.phrma.org/about#sthash.yWixx0ku.dpuf) Before release for consumption, these drugs
The Indian pharmaceutical industry enjoys certain advantages, which include low cost of innovation and capital expenditure, and strong domestic support in production, from raw material requirements to finished goods. The competitive structure of the pharmaceutical industry was being redefined due to the threat of new entrants, intense price competition, entry of large players, and new regulations and rules as well as a shift in focus. In addition, the partnerships between pharmaceutical and biotechnology
Large pharmaceutical industries are making big profits on medications because they charge high prices for profit. These pharmaceutical companies are overcharging for medications that are essential to maintaining the health of patients. Having such a high cost for medication prevents patients from receiving the care that they need. This may result in patients resorting to desperate measure such as stealing and other illegal acts. The pharmaceutical industry need to reevaluate their ethical standards
According to Moss (Schuiling and Moss, 2004), pharmaceutical companies have not worked proactively in identifying a brand identity for their products and in communicating this identity to consumers. They have not done market research to determine their brand identity and to verify if this is how consumers view them. Although brands exist in both the consumer goods and pharmaceutical industries, only the consumer goods industry is using brands as a competitive tool, managing its brands with care and
Of all the booming businesses in recent history the pharmaceutical industry makes the largest profits of any industry; making approximately three times more than the average fortune 500 company (Silverstein). At the forefront of the drug industries rise is the United States. The United States accounts for nearly half of the world’s pharmaceutical market, and the benefits are evident. The United States is seeing record high life expectancy along with an all time low death rate (“Life Expectancy at
combining the money and ideas of what used to be two different entities into one. This, however, is not the only thing that results from merging two different companies, and since we will be discussing the merging of two companies in the pharmaceutical industry, the impact will be incredible. Of course, the merging of two companies will not only have positive impacts but it will have many negative side effects as well. Furthermore, depending on the size of the merging companies and the goals of the
Designing a Global Strategy for Pharmaceutical Industry Introduction The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceuticals compounds for medical purpose. Pharmaceutical companies produce generic, brand medications and medical devices. The industry is subject to a complex regulatory environment regarding the patenting, testing and ensuring safety and efficacy and marketing of drugs. As per WHO "The 10 largest drugs companies control over one-third of this market, several