The pharmaceutical industry is big business on a global scale. In recent years, the combined revenues of prescription drug manufacturers exceeded one trillion dollars, making it one of the largest industries in the world.
While profits for drug companies are often immense, so too are the costs of researching, developing, manufacturing, and marketing their new medications. Pharmaceutical companies want to do everything in their power to make sure their new products are successful to recoup their huge investments.
However, despite rigorous testing processes and mandatory approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), dangerous drugs still make it to the marketplace every year. In some cases, drug companies are even aware of the dangers that their medications pose to patients, but they still release them anyway—often without disclosing the risks.
They do that for two reasons:
- To protect their investments—Every new drug often represents billions of dollars in research and development costs. To remain profitable, drug companies must recoup that money many times over—and scrapping or recalling drugs that are already well into development can hurt their bottom line.
- To increase their profits—When drugs get FDA approval and hit pharmacy shelves, drug companies can start profiting from them right away. They also know that potential drug injuries may not be noticed or reported for years or even decades after release. That means the risks of patients suffering serious adverse health effects may not be as important to them as their own profits.
At Ferrer Poirot Feller Daniel, our drug injury lawyers are here to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for valuing profits over the safety of innocent victims like you. Call today for a free consultation.