Derek Lowe kicks off a conversation about the costs of drug development that several of his readers follow up on. Says Derek: "Most drug development projects don't work, and all the money spent on them goes down the hole. If you're going to risk your cash on one, you need to figure out what you would get if you parked your money in some more reliable investments instead, and you need to realize up front that this is what you're forgoing. 'But I don't do my expenses like that!' goes the cry. Don't you, though? If you have some extra cash around, should you put it in a savings account, the stock market, pay down some principal on your mortgage, or put it all on your lucky number at a roulette table?..."

Says one of the commenters: "Having degrees in both economics and chemistry, I have bounced around the pharmaceutical industry in a variety of roles and I think the Tufts number has done more harm than good. It comes across sounding a bit like a rationalization from an industry that is facing maturation pains moving from a young upstart industry to a more stable middle age. It also has focused the debate on haggling about costs rather than social returns..."