The pharmacists fighting high drug prices


Some Dutch pharmacists combat high drug prices by making small batches of drugs themselves, which they sell to patients at a fraction of the cost. Drug companies get a 10-year monopoly on new drugs but many simply re-registered old drugs for new diseases and significantly raise prices. Doctors at Erasmus Medical Center have used a drug to treat a rare cancer for many years, but after it fell back under a drug company monopoly, the price increased and insurance companies stopped covering it. In response, hospital pharmacists made the drug themselves so that they can continue to treat patients.

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