Dalton Pharmacy and Chemistry Experts Say Cost Of Meds Could Rise Further in 2015

DALTON, GA, (WDEF)-Pharmacist Shane Miller, S and W Pharmacy, Dalton, GA,"Double, ten times, doxycycline is the premier example it’s a very important antibiotic its gone up some 8000%".

Miller says doxycline used  for acne and lyme disease is just one of a number of generic drugs that have shot up in price.

He tells News 12 Georgia families are struggling to get the medications they need this Christmas.

"People have always thought medicine was expensive but the crisis this year is that bread and butter prescriptions, blood pressure medicine, heart medicine, thyroid medicine things that been on the market since the 40,50s and 60s."

     Less than two months ago Congress led by Rep. Cummings of Baltimore called for an investigation into more than a dozen drug companies to explain the sharp price rise.

Miller believes more regulation is key.
    
"Without the cash paying population there is no market pressure to hold the price down and everybody is grabbing for their share of the pie."

Chemistry experts here at Dalton State say there are a number of factors as to why medications both generic and non are getting more expensive.

Professor Richard Collison, Chemistry Department, Dalton State College,"Drugs get more and more specific they get more expensive, they get more difficult to make, it takes longer, to be honest the older drugs which are quiet effective are cheaper the newer ones are the popular ones."

Collison along with Miller predicts 4 dollar pharmacy deals could be in jeopardy in 2015 and says drug costs could continue to soar.

"It costs more to research the medications now, it takes years and years to make a medication, quiet often the research goes nowhere so they have wasted years and years for nothing quiet often when they actually make something that works."

The FDA say 8 out of ten prescriptions are now for generic medications.

Experts quoted in the New York Times say there needs to be at least 5 companies making one medication to bring prices down but in many cases there are only 2 or 3 in the US.