All of this staying at home and watching a ton of TV has led to an interesting thing.

JustGrateful

I can now tell you all of the new drugs out on the market, who makes them, and the problems they are supposed to fix. Just a strange benefit of being on lockdown.

andreacha

You must be Googled out!!

po18guy

Every other commercial advises of potential side effects, such as "lymphoma and other cancers" Well, as it turns out, the word lymphoma no longer scares me. However, we also note that seemingly the vast majority of conditions and diseases treated by modern drugs trace in some way back to the immune system. Everything from psoriasis to multiple sclerosis. I am lead to ask: how do we care for our immune system? As it turns out, there is precious little we can do beside a healthy diet, supplementation where needed and some level of exercise. And, when that fails, we euthanize our immune system and transplant someone else's in its place. A strange, unanticipated, yet intriguing medical age we live in.

GregP_WN

I have noticed this strange phenomenon myself. While sitting in front of the TV for countless hours, since there's not a lot else that I can currently do, I see all of these adds too. What is kind of interesting to me is the list of potential "other" diseases or conditions that you "may be subject to obtaining" by taking this drug. So, I'm learning the names of these new drugs plus the names of some new conditions. As they say, you learn something every day. Well, it's true even in a pandemic lockdown.

Molly72

One of the things these ads don't tell you is the cost!

po18guy

Cost. The cost of living strikes. Joining a pool (insurance) is about the only way we can keep our head above water. On the flip side, it costs between 2-5 billion (yup) dollars to develop a new drug from concept to research to formulation to in vitro trials to in vivo trials to clinical trials to shepherding it through the FDA maze. We are leaving out marketing and distribution/education costs here. The government has no such money for the myriad of drugs in development and often times no tremendous desire to develop such drugs, so private companies and investors step in. They take a huge risk. One last factor is the difference in pricing here and elsewhere. As it turns out, the US bears the majority of the cost of new drugs. Other nations benefit from the risk that the US takes in drug development, as only about 1 or 2 in ten drugs makes the final cut.

Wish it was more simple, but like life, it gets complicated.

LiveWithCancer

Haha, so true. The drug I've been hearing most about lately is one that treats schizophrenia. That ad plays over and over again - and every time it plays, I am grateful it is not a drug I need.

Molly72

We are quite aware of the cost of developing a new drug.
We are also aware of the cost of marketing/advertising this drug. Especially when this drug is advertised repeatedly over and over and over every 20 minutes on every station. It is like a Chinese (no offense, please) Water Torture.

Perhaps some have amazing insurances that will fork over $3000-$5000 per month for the miracle drug, but most will laugh. Then there are the benevolent statements that state the company is willing to help with the price IF you are eligible. I have tried twice, and will not bore you with the efforts and the results. It was insulting.

As you say po18guy, life is complicated, it's also a "redacted word"!

cllinda

I really haven't watched tv enough to follow all the new drugs. I did do a lot of reading. I'm on my 45th book for the year.
But we all just have to do what we can during these crazy times. TV, crochet, knitting, or any other activity is going to help get us through this pandemic and keep us going.
Good vibes for all the tv watchers out there.

Bug

I wish those TV ads did not exist.