Chapter Content
Okay, so, you know, pharmaceuticals. What a story, right? It's like, on one hand, you have this incredible history of, you know, saving lives, developing drugs that have, like, literally changed the world. And then on the other hand, there's just, like, this history of, well, let's just say questionable behavior.
Think about it, you know, way back when, you had these "snake oil" salesmen, just peddling whatever they could get away with. I mean, some of these potions, it's crazy, they actually contained cocaine and alcohol! Like, yeah, maybe you *felt* better, but it wasn't exactly doing wonders for your health, you know?
And you had these pharmacopoeias, these lists of drugs, but honestly, doctors back then? They didn't really know much more than their patients. A lot of folk wisdom and, you know, a confident bedside manner, that's what people went off of.
Then things started to change. There was this Pure Food and Drug Act, which, thank goodness. And slowly, but surely, science started to, like, actually get involved. Aspirin came along, boom, huge. And then, you know, these sulfonamides, they were used as dyes, but then, hey, someone figured out they had antibacterial properties.
But even then, things went wrong, like, *really* wrong. Remember that Elixir Sulfanilamide thing? That company, Massengill, dissolved the drug in antifreeze, essentially. And a bunch of people died! I mean, that led to stricter regulations, but still, tragic.
And then there's Thalidomide. Oh my gosh. You know, that drug for morning sickness? It caused horrific birth defects. It was a terrible situation and a long, drawn-out fight for compensation.
But then, on the other side, you have antibiotics. Penicillin, discovered by Fleming. But the crazy thing is, nobody cared for, like, ten years! Can you believe that? It took World War II, the Rockefeller Foundation, and some brilliant researchers to really get that going. It's like, sometimes the most amazing things just sit there, waiting. And it changed everything.
Merck was one of the first companies to really see the potential, you know? They even had this "Merck Manual," and, uh, some of their recommendations back then were a little, shall we say, outdated. Bloodletting for bronchitis? Arsenic for impotence? Yikes. But eventually they got on the right track.
And then George Merck, the son, he really turned things around, made it a research-focused company. During the war, they committed to mass-producing penicillin, and then came streptomycin. Apparently, the first patient successfully treated with streptomycin was Robert Dole! Crazy.
And get this, Merck actually said, "Medicine is for the people, not for the profits." Imagine hearing that these days! It's like, wow. Johnson & Johnson had a similar credo, like, profit as a result, not the main objective.
And there's that Tylenol scare, right? Someone put cyanide in the bottles, but Johnson & Johnson, they pulled everything off the shelves immediately. You know, it was the right thing to do, even though it cost them a ton.
And what about Merck and river blindness? That's another story. They developed a drug, realized it could help millions, and just gave it away. Annually. It's pretty amazing.
But, you know, after all that, things kind of took a turn. The pressure from Wall Street, the focus on shareholder value, it all started to shift things. Marketing became more important than research. It was all about making money *now*.
Then Merck had that whole Vioxx thing. You know, it was linked to heart problems and they eventually had to withdraw it.
And then you had Valeant. Ugh. That whole thing was just...bad. Buying companies, slashing research, jacking up prices. And then there was Martin Shkreli, and the Daraprim scandal, with the huge price increase. And Mylan with the EpiPen… I mean, what was that? It's like, come on.
And then, the opioid crisis. Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, pushing opioids on everyone. Just awful.
And even Insys, hiring a stripper to convince doctors to prescribe their opioid. I mean, talk about a new low.
And that's why people's opinion of the pharmaceutical industry went way down. You know, it went from something people admired to something people actively disliked.
Then, boom, the pandemic. Suddenly, everyone needed a vaccine. And these companies stepped up, they created them incredibly fast. And that helped a little. People started to think a bit better about the industry again, but the damage was already done.
So, yeah, the pharmaceutical industry. It's like, it's done so much good, but it's also messed up so many times. Antibiotics, vaccines, all that stuff, amazing. But then you have the price gouging, the opioid crisis, the shady marketing practices. It's a really complicated picture, you know?
On the one hand, these drugs save lives and make people healthier, and they've provided great philanthropy and foundations. But there is also this desire for profit that often gets out of hand.
And that brings up the issue of regulation and the challenges of managing healthcare prices, but it all boils down to a few key things: the motivation and ethics of the people in charge, the pressure from the financial world, and the way we regulate the industry. These things affect all businesses, but it really matters when we're talking about our health.