I was just commenting that the actual numbers may not be as high as what they want us to believe.

If you mean they don't need to charge as much as they do, that's true, especially in the US. They could reduce their profit. That would change the R&D profile, though- riskier options become less desirable when profit is down and you've got shareholders watching over your shoulder. IMHO we're better off paying pharma HUGE money so they have every incentive to plough profits back into R&D in the hope of more the same, leading to more success and more options that don't exist today. Also I'd prefer to pay $M bonuses to pharma researchers who find something useful than to bankers who "cleverly" disguise trash as diamonds to be sold at a profit.