BIG PHARMA'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET
BY
KATHLEEN DEOUL
(VII of XII)

THE REST OF THE STORY

In a September, 2003 article, researcher Brenda K. Motheral, Ph.D. examined the cost-effectiveness of ulcer treatments.

Currently, most physicians prescribe expensive drugs like Prilosec or Nexium, the so-called Proton Pump Inhibitors or PPI's as the first line of attack. If that should fail, most often they recommend surgery. The only problem is that the assumption underlying the PPI treatment - that ulcers are caused by excess stomach acid, aspirin, or stress - is wrong! Researchers have discovered that in 90% of the cases, they are caused by a bacterial infection that can be easily treated with a combination of cheap antibiotics and bismuth subsalicylate e.g. Pepto-Bismol!

According to Dr. Motheral, the bismuth-based therapy is both cheaper and more effective than using PPI's. This is no small consideration. Ulcer medications are among the most widely prescribed, and are costly. A typical prescription for a PPI runs between $150 and $200 per month, and patients generally have to take them for their entire lives. This can come to hundreds of thousands of dollars over time - indeed PPI's account for fully 8.9% of total drug costs and a huge proportion of drug company profits. But they represent something else as well: hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient that are not available for other medical care.

And keep in mind - even when an ulcer is surgically removed, if the cause is a bacteria, it will come back! So the risk and expense of the surgery would have been for nothing.