Monday, July 7, 2008

Drug Industry Innovation and Zinger of the Week

Here's a nice exchange in the Wall Street Journal. First we have on opinion piece from Benjamin Zycher of the Manhattan Institute, extolling the role of the pharamceutical industry in new product innovation, and taking issue with the criticisms of Marcia Angell (among others) that the industry often just buys ideas from investigators sponsored by public funds, and then claims that their in-house staff invented the whole thing:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121460680460712083.html?mod=Letters

Marcia Angell, not about to take this lying down, fired off her letter in reply:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121539733302831535.html

...and in the process got off what I will nominate for the Zinger of the Week award: The only really innovative thing about this industry today is the claims of its apologists.

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