For those of you who aren't aware of the big drug company nuances, this is a common tactic in the pharmaceutical business. Instead of getting a drug approved for all its uses when drug makers seek first approval from the FDA, they get it approved for one limited use in order to use the additional uses later to extend the drugs patent life. Just before the drug patent expires, they seek approval for the additional uses, extending their patent and negating any possible competition from generic manufacturers.

In this case, Pfizer's patent was set to expire on May 30 2006, but after it received approval for the additional uses, extended its monopoly on the market 1,213 days. Extending the patent for roughly 2 years may not seem like that long, but when the drug is pulling in billions of dollars each year, it makes a big difference to Pfizer.

So whats the big deal, drug companies need to make money too, right? Sure, but using these manipulative practices isn't just hurting the consumers pocketbook, it's depriving the of medicine that they could have been receiving the entire time to the medication has been on the market. If big pharma would focus on helping people instead of manipulating the system, they earn the trust of the consumer and make even more money than they do now.

Why does the FDA allow this type of manipulation? Because big pharma is who pays the bills. The FDA cannot bite the hand that feeds them. To give unbiased regulation of the pharmaceutical industry, the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry must be separated. As long as the FDA is financially dependant on the pharmaceutical industry we will see this kind of corruption and lack of regulation.

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