I think the issue people have is the public spends about 1.4 trillion on patented prescription drugs per year globally which is more than 10x what drug companies are spending on R&D. Especially when manufacturing and distribution is such a small fraction of this cost.

While time value of memory explains some of that it’s still a huge discrepancy. Advertising etc make up the difference and while cost effective for the company, their harder to justify as a fraction of drug prices. Especially when over prescription is so harmful due to side effects and adverse drug interactions.