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Editorial
The pharmaceutical industry probably thinks Peter Jennings is a pill. ABC's star anchorman recently presented a news special called Bitter Medicine: Pills, Profit and the Public Health. That title alone should tell you how the industry was presented.
A key message of this special was that pharmaceutical companies spend more money putting out new versions of old drugs than on developing new wonder drugs. The implication is that drug companies focus on maximizing profit to shareholders.
Nowhere in the special was there any mention of the real profit opportunities in store for pharmaceutical companies. Hey, Jennings, listen up: They're going to come from excellent supply chain management.
The ABC special was right in reporting that the flow of new pharmaceutical products has slowed dramatically. What it missed is the new flood of biotech...