The pharmaceutical manufacturers have recently been having a bad time. Buffeted by hostile congressional committees, blown hither and yon by an increasingly aggressive but yet hesitant FDA, they have truly been placed in an unfavorable light, despite their excellent record of achievement. A large part of their profits has been put into research and development. As Congressman Melvin Laird (R, Wis) pointed out in a recent speech, in "an industry based on innovation, the pharmaceutical industry receives only 4% of its research and development money from the federal government, compared with 88% for aircraft and missiles and 55% for all manufacturing." Still, their drug prices are under constant attack and their marketing policies—particularly their advertising phraseology, which is carefully monitored—have been severely criticized. Comparing the advertising claims of the pharmaceutical industry with those of other industries—automotive, food, cosmetics—it obviously seems lily-white and low pressured.
The whole battle over generic vs