It hasn't gone unnoticed - the cost of healthcare is rising, diabetes diagnoses are rising, the pharmaceutical industry has dramatically increased its investment in research and development -- but that has not translated into more new treatments.

Between 1993 and 2004, funding for new drug applications submitted to the FDA increased almost a 150%. However, the number of new drug applications increased only 38%. Of those applications, only 7% were for innovative drugs with new ingredients. The Government Accountability Office (yes there is such a thing) says the reason for unimpressive returns on medical research funding dollars is due to the difficulty of developing new treatments, combined with marketplace pressure to produce blockbuster new drugs.

The phenomenon known as "me too" drugs (where companies produce drugs similar to drugs already on the market) has also become much more common. These drugs offer little in the way of innovation. However, despite the economic challenges of bringing new and innovative drugs to market, the pace of scientific discovery has increased substantially in the past 10 years - 56 diabetes drugs in development, alone. As the cost of discovering new medicines rises, it becomes more difficult for drug companies to recover these costs. It seems the research dollars are plentiful but ideas for new drugs can't compete with all the profit-decaying hurdles along the way. It's not a problem of interest until it's your own. I wouldn't wish diabetes on anybody-- even those who care more about the profit margin versus the quality of life of the person taking the pill.