Medicine: Proprietary Products

The government last week reported on the proprietary medicine business of last year. For statistical purposes these trademarked medicines include goods dispensed upon physicians' prescriptions, drugs sold to the general public, also disinfectants, insecticides and fungicides. Their total wholesale value totaled $313,764,874. Their bare production costs (materials, containers, fuel and electric current) was $92,630,000. The difference was spent mostly for advertising, less for labor, least for profits. Because retailers must make 33% to 40% gross profits on such medicinals to keep in business, the cost of these goods to the public approached...

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