I remember the first time I learned about the process involved in getting a medication to market. I was running a nonprofit for people with Parkinson disease and other movement disorders. My father-in-law had Parkinson’s and I watched his life slip away and my mother-in-law’s life hanging on by a thread. Medications were the only thing that gave him any quality of life – there are no disease modifying treatments for Parkinson’s. Sadly he died before the many treatment options came into existence, but that experience informed my deep passion for medication access.
Pharma companies have experienced some bad press. Some of it is well- earned. And much of it is not. In my 8 years working in the field before being diagnosed with my own very rare disease – I found many passionate and caring people who woke up every day trying to make our lives better. And I am grateful. As I navigate my own journey now, I am grateful every day for the people that study molecules and biologics, investors that support the trials, companies that produce the medications and the providers that prescribe them. Collectively they help keep me alive.
So lets dig in. Did you know:
