From Khadija Sharife, an investigation by the African Network of Centers for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR) published by the World Policy Journal and Financial Mail, of pharmaceutical companies’ secretive research and development costs. The conclusion: the extremely high costs of drugs developed in the United States and sold in Africa cannot be justified by the R&D costs. Instead drug companies use opaque intangible assets and tax havens to shift profits and spend vastly more on marketing and administration than on research and development. On top of that, the industry heavily relies on public funding and tax breaks to underwrite its development costs.
[Reporting sponsored by The Reva and David Logan Foundation.]