2019年0810社会类（讨论型）

Some people say that drug companies have a responsibility to spend money on researching medicines that will help people in poorer countries. Others say the main responsibility of drug companies is to make money. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Serious disease is widespread in countries with a low GDP and commentators suggest that the big pharmaceutical companies should focus on making low cost medicines to ease that suffering.  However, critics might argue the focus should be on keeping their stock holders happy by making increasing profit.

From my point of view, I believe that these large drug companies have a moral obligation to provide low cost drugs to those people most in need. For example, Aids is widespread amongst the African population. Recent research has allowed the drug companies to produce medical products that allow people to live a long and healthy life. Consequently, Aids is no longer the death sentence it was.  However, these drugs are prohibitively expensive and it is noteworthy to point out that Aids sufferers in the West have more access to the drugs than a person in Africa.

Regardless of the humanitarian aspect of providing these drugs at low cost critics maintain that a drug companies prime purpose is to make money.  Significantly, they will point to the enormous cost of the research that goes into a new drug. For instance, an article in Scientific America, claimed the cost of developing a new prescription drug that gains market approval is $2.6 billion. Moreover, it also takes many years of testing before these drugs are available to be sold.

In summary, a new drug does cost a lot of money but in my opinion, drug companies do have a responsibility to provide low cost medicine for those people most in need.

256 words

By Dr Rob Burton

Vocabulary

GDP (noun) (gross domestic product) - the measure of an economy adopted by the United States in 1991; the total market values of goods and services produced by workers and capital within a nation's borders during a given period (usually 1 year)

pharmaceatucal (adj) - Medicine of or relating to drugs or pharmacy

in need (of something) (idiom) [of someone or an animal] to require something. We are in need of a new car. The company is in need of a larger building to hold all its employees.

prohibitively (adverb) So high or burdensome as to discourage purchase or use: prohibitive prices.

maintain (verb) To defend or hold against criticism or attack: maintained his stand on taxes.

humanitarian (adjective) Showing concern for the welfare of humanity, especially in acting to improve the living conditions of impoverished people.

prescription drug (noun) - a drug that is available only with written instructions from a doctor or dentist to a pharmacist; "he told the doctor that he had been taking his prescription regularly"

范文解析：

这是一篇讨论类大作文，文中讨论的话题为“制药公司是否应该有生产和研究药物的责任并帮助贫穷的国家，或者制药公司的主要任务就是挣钱”。对于讨论类

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