Reactions

Letters to the editor Drug pricing under the Inflation Reduction Act The Medicare benefits described on page 9 of the Aug. 26 issue in “IRA Negotiations will Save Medicare $6 Billion” still leave people in the US paying more for lifesaving drugs than anyone anywhere else in the world. Given the horrible reaction by Pfizer chief financial officer Dave M. Denton, I must repeat my diagnosis from 22 years ago (C&EN, July 15, 2002, page 2): “It is truly sad that chemistry, a science inextricably bound to medicine, should have de-evolved into yet another branch of economics.” More than 2 decades have passed since my disgust was originally published in C&EN, and though I’ve hoped for some kind of positive change, none has occurred. The chemical “industry” must be properly distinguished from its association with medicine. Bhopal, India, is a famous industrial “accident” known worldwide. The chemical industry has damaged