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The pharmaceutical lobby claims that the cost of take back programs is too high. </div>
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I'd like to estimate what it would cost and see how that compares, percentage wise, to other industries with product stewardship programs. </div>
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I don't know<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">w</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">hat</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> percent of gross sales are used to pay for outreach, waste collection and disposal by industries
with lifecycle programs. Maybe the folks at PSI have some numbers? Does the percent vary widely or are they in the same ballpark? Could a pharmaceutical program be done for a similar or lower percentage? </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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A quick check shows there are approximately 67,000 pharmacies (Wiki) and 16,000 nursing homes (CDC) in the U.S. Couldn't find a number for narcotic treatment centers. It is not likely that every pharmacy, long term care facility, and narcotic treatment center
will become a collection site, even if the cost of the program is covered. I'm going to optimistically assume high participation rate of 85,000 collection sites.<br>
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In 2009, gross sales of <span style="font-size: 10pt;">pharmaceuticals in the </span>US totalled<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 300 billion dollars [</span><a href="http://www.bls.gov/ppi/pharmpricescomparison.pdf" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-size: 10pt;">http://www.bls.gov/ppi/<wbr>pharmpricescomparison.pdf</a><span style="font-size: 10pt;">].
With the growth of health care costs, it is safe to assume that this is now a low number. </span></div>
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<div style="direction: ltr; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Not yet knowing what percent of gross sales other industries put into collection and disposal, I'm going to make a big assumption. I'd guess that most people
would agree that 1/10 of 1% of gross sales is not </span>a lot<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> to cover the costs of a take back program. Using my assumptions, 300 million dollars is roughly $3500 per collection site per year. </span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 10pt; direction: ltr;">Obviously, the start-up cost for a pharmaceutical program is significantly higher than the ongoing costs since drop boxes need to be purchased, staff needs to be trained, and outreach materials developed. We should
also assume there will be ongoing government oversight costs that need to be covered. <span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 10pt; direction: ltr;">There is an economy of scale that applies here. For example, if the manufactures chose to work together, one outreach program could be used nationwide, tweaking it for maximum effectiveness in different regions.
Also, the cost of a collection box (roughly 7-9 hundred) will come down some with large volume purchases. </div>
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<div style="font-size: 10pt; direction: ltr;">Are my assumptions and quoted numbers reasonable? How does the $3500/site figure compare to the start up and maintenance costs of your take back program? </div>
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<div style="font-size: 10pt; direction: ltr;">Your thoughts are appreciated!</div>
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<div style="font-family:Tahoma; font-size:13px"><font><span lang="en-US" style="font-size:">
<div>Ed Gottlieb<br>
Chair, Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal<br>
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<div>Industrial Pretreatment Coordinator</div>
<div>Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility<br>
525 3<font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><sup>rd</sup></font> Street</div>
<div>Ithaca, NY 14850</div>
<div>(607) 273-8381</div>
<div>fax: (607) 273-8433</div>
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