WASHINGTON -- America's pharmaceutical industry leads the world. But that hasn't stopped U.S. politicians from threatening to destroy it.
Because of new drugs, Americans live longer and better. But many people nevertheless believe pharmaceuticals cost too much. It is easy to take drugs for granted. Hundreds of new medicines are in process to combat cancer, heart disease and strokes, AIDS, infectious diseases and more mundane conditions.
Observes Frank Lichtenberg of Columbia University, "On average, each new drug approved during the period 1970-91 is estimated to have saved 11,200 life-years in 1991."