A film about the rising cost of drugs in the U.S., followed by a moderated discussion with medical professionals

Big Pharma explores the problem of extreme drug prices in the U.S. and how drug cost impacts the public, businesses and the overall economy.A documentary film by Vince Mondillo, Richard Master, Wendell Potter and Henry Nevison, this eye–opening account describes the dynamics behind the escalating cost of pharmaceuticals in the U.S. and the impact of soaring healthcare costs on U.S. businesses, working families and our overall economy. It proposes a simple fix that mirrors a “best practice” utilized throughout the industrialized world.

The film makes an effective business case for realizable change. It digs deep to answer key questions: How much do pharma companies really spend on research and development of truly innovative drugs?  Do "free market" principles impact on drug prices and help control cost? Do the normal rules of business apply to the pharma industry? How do TV ads impact consumers and doctors? It proposes a solution that makes business sense for employers and health sense for employees. It is a compelling drama that reveals the truth of pharma cost and what we can do about it.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Medical Anthropologist Mayling Simpson, PhD.

About the panelists

• Dr. Jim Dudley has practiced family medicine for 42 years, mostly in Steamboat Springs at the Steamboat Medical Group. During his career Dr. Dudley has experienced medicine from the very rural (Cordova, Alaska) to urban (Seattle, Washington) and from affluent communities such as Steamboat Springs to poor communities such as Naalehu, Hawaii.
• Dr. Ron Krall is a physician scientist, Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology at the Center for Bioethics and Health Law at the University of Pittsburgh; Chairman of the Board of Pierian Biosciences, and a member of the Board of the Foundation of the National Institutes of Health. He served as a senior executive for five pharmaceutical companies, shepherding more than 20 new medicines to approval, retiring as Chief Medical Officer of GlaxoSmithKline. Locally you know him as Co-Owner, with his wife, of Off The Beaten Path Bookstore and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Yampa Valley Community Foundation.
• Dr. Dave Lambeth, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Emory University Medical School, received the PhD. and MD degrees from Duke University. His research laboratory at Emory carries out NIH-funded investigations on the role of oxidative stress in health and disease, and in recent years he has focused on drug discovery projects. He is co-founder of the small Swiss pharmaceutical company Genkyotex whose goal is to develop novel drugs aimed at treating a variety of inflammatory and fibrotic diseases.
• Dr. Rosanne Iversen is board certified in Family Medicine and has worked as a Family Physician in Steamboat Springs since 1992. She is founder and owner of Steamboat Family Medicine. Dr. Iversen has served on the staff of University of Colorado, teaching medical students, and has served on the board of Yampa Valley Autism Program for the last four years. She has been the medical director of Planned Parenthood in Steamboat Springs since 1992 and serves on Yampa Valley Medical Center UCH Cancer Care and Pediatric Committees.

About the library's Health Perspectives Series
This is an ongoing, once-in-an-occasional series of talks, workshops and films that brings together professional expertise in nutrition, exercise and general health for free community programs at the Bud Werner Memorial Library.