Posts like this one are why Bill Rempel’s blog stays on my list of favorite market blogs, even though his trading style is completely different than mine.
From the post:
“Post Script: this happens in every industry, not just pharma. There is probably not a single cleaning or disinfecting product in your home that you couldn’t replace with either plain soap, baking powder, chlorine or oxygen bleach, or vinegar. But where are the profit margins in selling those??? The profit margins in developing new, patentable, cleaning molecules and contraptions is high. Talcum powder is incredibly effective against fire ants, but low-margin compared to far more expensive, and less effective, bait poisons. On it goes …”
I can’t say firsthand whether the statements about those particular products are true or not… but it’s good to remind yourself once in a while that companies care more about profitable products than effective ones.