Questions About High Cost Drug Research : Aspirin Comparison

Let's use aspirin as an example of where drugs began.Edward Stone of Oxford University in 1763 analysed willow bark.Willow bark was used for thousands of years for human ailments by indigenous peoples. Stone found Acetylsalicylic Acid to be the active ingredient in the bark. Some years later Bayer of Germany synthesized the acid and put it into a bottle and the rest is history. Maybe the whole endeavor cost a couple hundred thousands? That includes manufacturing capability which includes packaging.Yesterday Tufts Center For The Study of Drug Development issued the results of its study of modern day drug introduction costs. It said it costs about $2.5 billion to bring a new drug to market. Well if if the history of the aspirin is any guide and taking into account inflation since 1763 I reckon that $2.4 billion is spent for unreadable lab tests and packaging design and legal costs associated with disclaimers and $100 million in copying what nature provides for free in jungles and everyones backyards.