Professor Doctor Iqbal Chaudhry reveals that medicines for diseases which are common among poor citizens are not developed because companies fear that these medicines will generate low profit.
Iqbal Chaudhry is the Director of Karachi University’s Department International Center for Chemical & Biological Sciences (ICCBS). He said that a new medicine requires 1.2-1.8 Billion Dollars and is prepared after research, testing and sampling which may take 8-12 years.
He said that ‘Research & Development’ should be the most important part of any pharmaceutical company but unfortunately only 13% expenses are incurred on R & D while 30% are incurred on marketing and advertisement.
Pharmacy has become an industry which aims for maximizing profit rather than serving the people and saving lives. Human needs and requirements are being ignored and focus has been shifted to increase wealth.