Prescription drugs continue to be a booming business for brand- name as well as generic manufacturers. Total revenue from sales in the United States reached $234.1 billion in 2008, up from just $40.3 billion in 1990 and $120.6 billion in 2000.40 Although drug companies’ financial fortunes have slipped from the heights they reached a few years ago, when pharmaceutical manufacturing consistently topped lists of the nation’s most profitable industries,41 drug makers still enjoy a spot near the top of the most recent rankings with a robust19.3 percent return on revenues and a 23 percent profit for shareholders.42