There is a great risk that this lack of new drug development will be magnified to an even greater degree as government price pressures and generic utilization drive down the motivation for companies to take on the tremendous risks of drug development.

The real problem lies with drug patent laws. A new drug today costs $ 1.2 billion before it gets out to market. I'm not sure in this financial climate anybody wants to take that gamble. Although I do not believe drug companies should be able to reap huge rewards e.g Lipitor $ 12 billion annually) the fact that generic companies are able to produce these drugs at the end of the patent without having any need for future R&D, CME, or free sampling is outrageous. An incentive must be created for companies to continue research and provide total patent protection with some financial safeguards inserted so that the consumer does get a break at the cash register. One has to only look at the complete collapse of R&D with Pfizer who was the #1 taxpayer in Ann Arbor before it shut down its facility and its 2200 high skilled workforce.