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Paige Hutton
Professor Meenan
ENG123-B
14 April 2019
Argument Essay: Generic Drugs Versus Brand-Name Drugs
In recent years, the argument between generic and brand-name drugs has arisen as a
controversial topic in the medical world. A person's quality of life should never be impeded by
prohibitive and burdensome medical costs. Drug companies have been increasing their prices at
exponential rates, which is alarming because rather than providing antidotes for certain ailments
for the wellbeing of their consumers, the companies are treating their medical products as a
business, looking solely for large profits. Prices going up by 20% to even 600% at times has
crippled communities, especially those whose residents are unable to afford health care, meaning
the cost of medicine can take over a significant part of a person's budget. If medicine is
unaffordable, this causes great suffering and even leads to shortened lifespans in individuals. In
order to overcome this medical crisis for society, especially for those in poverty, there must be
lower prices available to consumers, increased competition between corporations, and newer
developments in medical advancements. If these measures are adopted, one day affordable
medicine will be available to all
Pharmaceutical corporations worldwide have failed to keep their consumers' wellbeing in
mind because they have been far more concerned with their profits than the lives they are
supposed to be helping. Consider the case of medical giant Mylan: its prices for its lifesaving
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device EpiPen recently skyrocketed, prompting an uproar from the public. As Andrew Pollack
stated in his article, "co-payment assistance is part of the standard playbook for companies
selling expensive drugs: The goal is to spare the consumer, who might create a political uproar,
and yet still get paid by the insurance company or government health program." Medical
companies are turning their industry into a business corporation, even more so by playing to the
insurance companies' games, rather than caring for the wellbeing of those lives involved and
affected. When greed drives the prices of medicine, the result is nearly debilitating for the
patients who are in desperate need of these expensive treatments unless they have the wealth to
afford them. Instead of using these profits to further advance their drugs for the customers, this
money only goes right into the CEOs' pockets. This issue is crucial because everyone,
everywhere, deserves to live life without medical bills looming over his or her every move.
One pathway to making medicine accessible to all, including over-the-counter and
prescription drugs, would be to heighten rivalry between companies. In order to achieve this, we
would need to sift through the backlog of generic medical companies waiting for approval by
Food and Drug Administration. By clearing the generic brand of drugs, which are equally
effective as name brands, and getting them on the market, there would be cheaper medicine for
everyone. This said, releasing more generics into pharmacies would force corporations to
provide the lowest price for their product in order to compete with the prices of