Let us now praise Brian Druker

Brian Druker is a cancer researcher at OHSU and was featured in this article in the Oregonian today.  He is hoping to generate a national dialog on pharmaceutical companies and their pricing of blockbuster drugs out of reach of most patients, many of whom will die without them.  One of those is Gleevec which Dr Druker helped develop for Novartis in the 1990's, and costs about $100,000 a year per patient.

Druker says he has long wrestled with the knowledge that the drug he helped develop is being priced out of reach for some.

While people have wondered if he made money off of the overpricing of Gleevec, Druker says he doesn't get royalties. "I've never gotten a penny of the sales of Gleevec."

Other countries' governments set drug prices, and Druker says while he thinks it's a good idea, he thinks what's more realistic in the United States would be government pressure to bring down the cost of life-saving medications.

He envisions a discussion that includes drug companies. "This is a debate that needs the attention of Congress."

He hopes other physicians join the fight. "There's strength in numbers. If we don't speak out, who will."

Good for him, and thank you Dr Druker. 

Update,  this issue was also highlighted in the NY Times.