Several Chinese magazines have compiled in December 2005 their lists of the industries that made the "cruelest profits" over the last year. 

Monopolistic industries, mistreatment of workers, price gouging, corruption, and unreasonably high profit margins were the main factors that led to an industry's inclusion on the list.

The pharmaceutical and medical industry was among the "cruelest" industries:

Pharmaceuticals and medical treatment

The pharmaceutical and medical industry tops many of the lists. According to domestic reports, drug prices are subject to a substantial markup, sometimes more than 10 times the wholesale price. Very little of this income goes back into product R&D or even into pharmaceutical company accounts –most of the income goes to the hospital, to doctors as comission, and commissions to pharmaceutical company sales representatives.

In a hospital, one drug is priced at RMB 170 (USD 21) per injection. Of this, the factory only receives RMB 12 (USD 1.5). Gongming Mazine broke down how the rest of the profits were divided.

Where the money goes ?breakdown of drug retail price of RMB 170

	Cut of retail sales price (in RMB)	Fraction of retail price
Hospital	66	38.8%
Doctor's commission	Around 35	21%
Drug Company Representative	Around 10-20	6-12%
Value-added tax	16	9.5%
Pharmaceutical Company	12	7%
Hospital pharmacy	5	3%
Distribution fee	5	3%
Other departments	5	3%

Source: Gongming Magazine

A drug must pass though the hands of at least 6 to 9 people before it gets to the patient, each taking a cut along the way., forcing patients to pay thousands of dollars, after a 1000% markup, for a heart drug that retails in Hong Kong for only USD 300, according to the paper.

With climbing medical costs, many Chinese are being priced out of medical treatment, as the cost of treating a serious disease can quickly spiral out of control. A growing number of people are avoiding hospitals all together. In rural China, 50% of people can't afford to go to the hospital, according to the paper.

Small diseases aren't worth the trouble of a hospital visit, and the price for treating serious diseases is simply too high and would quickly put an huge financial burden on their family, so people will simply wait for death. In rural western China, between 60% and 80% of people die in their homes instead of in the hospital, the paper reported.