GRE ARGUMENT ESSAY-8

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Argument:
The following appeared in the business section of a newspaper.

"Given that the number of people in our country with some form of arthritis is expected to rise from 40 million to 60 million over the next twenty years, pharmaceutical companies that produce drugs for the treatment of arthritis should be very profitable. Many analysts believe that in ten years Becton Pharmaceuticals, which makes Xenon, the best-selling drug treatment for arthritis, will be the most profitable pharmaceutical company. But the patent on Xenon expires in three years, and other companies will then be able to produce a cheaper version of the drug. Thus, it is more likely that in ten years the most profitable pharmaceutical company will be Perkins Pharmaceuticals, maker of a new drug called Xylan, which clinical studies show is preferred over Xenon by seven out of ten patients suffering from the most extreme cases of arthritis."

Essay
The newspaper extract given above discusses the possible success of business of pharmaceutical companies keeping view the growing rate of patients suffering from arthritis. It begins by saying that the number of patients is expected to rise from 40 million to 60 million in the next 20 years. Thus, the companies making the drugs for the same would have more business.

The writer of the article makes the observation made by most of the analysts that in the coming ten years, Xenon made by Becton Pharmaceuticals would be the best selling drug seeing its popularity today. However, the writer believes that since the patent on Xenon would expire in the coming three years, there would be other replacements that could take away the demand for the drug. Other companies would probably offer drugs at a cheaper price. Thus, it is likely that the preference of drugs changes in the coming ten years due to more choice available to the customers. The writer predicts that Perkins Pharmaceuticals would probably be the most profitable company since the drug Xylan, is being preferred by around seven out of ten patients, as indicated by clinical studies.

It is evident that people suffering form arthritis would need good drugs to cure them. There is no option available other than what the doctors prescribe. Thus, it is taken for sure that arthritis patients would be on a long dosage of drugs. This leads to one of the assumptions that the writer makes while saying that in future the sale of these drugs would go up.

The above argument as mentioned in the article holds its relevance on the assumption that the number of patients would increase in the coming years. However, there is no guarantee that this would be the case. It is likely that due to growing awareness people become conscious about their health. The problem of arthritis can be overcome with a healthy way of living and regular exercise. Thus, if it is advised by doctors and publicized throughout, it could possibly change the people�s attitude towards the way the disease is perceived. In such a case the argument loses its validity. There would be no profit in the sale of drugs for arthritis. Thus, the writer�s view stands null and void in this case.

Moreover, the writer says that Xylan is preferred over Xenon by seven out of ten patients. This is proven by the clinical studies which indicate that once the patent on Xenon expires in three years, the monopoly of the company making that drug would end. This will make the chances of Perkins Pharmaceuticals of making a profitable business in the coming ten years. However, the writer ignores the possibility of another drug coming up in future that would probably be better than Xylan. Thus, it is likely that the preference of patients changes over the years which would mean that another drug could take the place of the best selling drug. Thus, the writer�s stand that Perkins Pharmaceuticals would make profitable business does not hold good. It is also possible that due to the advancement in technology in the next ten to twenty years, there is an alternate and a sure-shot cure for arthritis. Thus, some kind of operation or laser treatment could probably eradicate the disease completely. That means the patients could no more be on a dose of drugs for any longer. In such a case, the sale of drugs would also suffer.

Thus, it can be seen that the extract in the newspaper is not completely valid. It suffers from some shortcomings that come in the way of its being accepted in all conditions.

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