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I am entering this debate rather late, because I seem to have a different outlook on the subject of the big bad drug manufacturers. Please don't think I am a supporter of these companies, but certain points need to be made. I am a devoted fan of the TV series 'The X Files', but that doesn't mean that I believe that 'The Truth is Out There'. What I am getting at is that I am not a subscriber to what has been labelled as 'Conspiracy Theory.' Consider: Let us suppose that a drug company is actually doing this horrifying thing- actively suppressing exploitation of a wonder drug. How did they develop it? We all know that to clear a drug for general use, the drug company has to carry out a fantastically expensive programme of testing - do you really think that such trials could be done in secret? A lot of drugs fall by the wayside during this testing, and you are not home and dry even when you have full clearance - remember Tasmar? As far as I can determine, nearly all the modern drugs started life as the outcome of research at one or more of the world's Universities, and at some point they either gave or bought the rights to exploit it for human consumption - the University work may only have tried the drug on mice, but even then the potential of this wonder drug would be known, so now we have to wrap the Universities into this conspiracy. Finally, let us suppose that our drug manufacturer did actually make and test and clear this wonder drug. You can bet that they will slap a price on the new drug that makes your eyes water. The usual reason given is that the money is needed to finance the next product in the pipeline, and of course that is always going to be more costly than last years drug. Regards, -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>