Two drug companies, Pfizer based in New York and Cipla based in Mumbai have promised to provide cancer drugs for several African countries at rock bottom prices, meaning prices where the companies would not be making any money, but would not be losing money either. There are only 16 drugs involved and 6 countries so far, but the deal is seen as one that will save many lives. Cancer in Africa has been growing, and 450,000 die every year for lack of care. By 2030 this number is projected to be one million. The agreement also includes top American oncologists devising treatment program guidelines Continue reading
The Deaf in Prisons
Every so often a neglected group comes to our attention, a group that deserves our compassion. Imagine being deaf and incarcerated. How would you communicate? Being disabled in prison is difficult and each disability has its own challenges, I was so touched by the challenges of deaf prisoners in this article. Some are essentially condemned to communication solitary confinement. The TTD system is 50 years old and if the prison has it, the family of the inmate may have switched to a more modern video system, Continue reading
Remittance Flow
Remittance flow is the flow of money from migrant in a country like the US to their families, usually in a developing country. It is now above $400 billion worldwide and is slated to grow. We should remember this when we hear criticism of migrants legal or illegal.
Cancer Drugs Prices
To most of us it’s hardly surprising!! A new analysis found that the claim by drug companies justifying the high price of drugs by the expenses of research and development cannot be proven. In an article published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the researchers found that the cost of developing a new drug is around $650 million. The drug companies put that cost at $ 2.7 billion or several times the actual cost established by the researchers. On top of the $650 million the researchers add another $100 million to cover the cost of what the companies would have gained by Continue reading