By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist
The snippet above is part of an infographic that came to my attention this week. The figures are in million US dollars, by the way. I enjoyed the design & loud "facts" of the infographic so much that I tweeted it a couple of times.
I'm not sure how true all these figures are, and there is a negative spin to it, but I thought you'd be interested.
Check out the link:
http://www.mapsofworld.com/poll/is-big-pharma-bad-facts-infographic.html
Most things in life are not all bad, and while it's easy and tempting to portray big pharma in a negative light, we do have a lot to be thankful for - not least the availability of new therapeutics that do improve patient's lives.
The following graphic also caught my attention:
Note HUMIRA, REMICADE, ENBREL, MABTHERA in the Top 5.
Rheumatology drugs. We are spending some serious money.
What that seems to suggest is that we need to continue to leverage this, and use Big Pharma to improve the lot for patients with rheumatic problems and arthritis.
Awareness programs. Advocacy. Improved education for doctors and health professionals. Supporting Support Organisations. Non-medication programs eg quit smoking, exercise initiatives, etc.
There's money there for these.
What are your thoughts?
Dr Irwin Lim is a rheumatologist and a director of BJC Health. You should follow him on twitter here. Arthritis requires an integrated approach. We call this, Connected Care. Contact us.
