A new report concludes the nine major pharmaceutical companies spend more on advertising, marketing and paying executives than they do on research and development of new drugs. The “Families U-S-A” report found eight of the nine spent twice as much on marketing and executive pay than on R-and-D. Iowa Citizens Action Network vice president Deb Stehr says she’s outraged by all those t-v ads hawking prescription drugs.Stehr says it might be time for a ban on pharmaceutical ads. She’s also concerned about the exorbitant pay for drug company executives.The report shows not only did Pfizer president William Steere get paid over 40-million dollars in 2000, he had about 131-million dollars in stock in the drug company.Stehr says the report disputes the drug company’s claims that the cost of prescription drugs can’t be lowered because it would cut into research and development. According to last year’s financial records, Eli Lilly spent 19 percent of its revenue on research and development. The other nine companies examined spent less, with Merck and Company spending only six percent on R-and-D, but 15 percent on marketing.The full report on pharmaceutical companies can be found at familiesusa.org later this morning.
