<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> On Thu, 17 Apr 1997 19:07:33 -0400, Elise Gorseth <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >The true driving force behind advancements in >medicine are the billions of dollars poured into pharmaceutical research >and development to discover new drugs, and any honest doctor will attest to >that. I agree. It may be of special interest to many of the members of this Listserve that it was a multinational, US-based pharmaceutical company (Eli Lilly) that funded the research of Banting and Best in Canada that led to the discovery of insulin. It was this same pharmaceutical company that years later developed insulin with the same chemical structure as human insulin using recombinant DNA technology. Before that only pork and bovine insulins were available. Eli Lilly also funds educational training programs to aid diabetics to enable them to better manage their disease. Today another pharmaceutical company's research (ISIS) has resulted in clinical trials of an antisense drug that has demonstrated safety and efficacy in treating active Crohn's disease. This antisense drug blocks the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). It is the brand-name pharmaceutical companies that spend billions of dollars on research which lead to a better understanding of different disease processes. Only drugs which pass clinical trials and are best sellers are copied by the generic companies. Listmembers may want to consider these factors next time they must decide on whether or not the extra cost of a brand name drug is warranted.