5,000% Price Increase For Daraprim

[BoberFett]

Proposed solution:

1. Drug patents mugs specify a patent price.
2. If patent holder sells drug at price below patent price of at price more than 20% above patent price, the patent expires.
3. Patent holder may apply for upward adjustment in patent price based on inflation.
4. Other companies may offer generics at below the patent price with a 20% royalty to the patent holder.

The result is driving manufacturers have to estimate a market price for their drug. They can then sell their drug for a 20% premium above this price. If they are too greedy and overstate the competitive (patent) price, generic manufacturers can undercut them. The original company will still receive 20% of the actual sale price.

To illustrate: a company patents a new drug at $100. They can sell it between $100 and $120 without losing the patent. If a generic can manufacture the drug for $70, they could sell it for $95, pay $19 in royalties and make $6 in profit.

Here the patent holder was too greedy. If they had stated the patent price at $85, they could sell it for $102 and the generic would be unable to undercut them.

Obvious the percentages can be adjusted to insure an adequate recovery of R&D and profit by the patent holder.

Interesting idea. Similar could be done for copyright as well.

Still, that's not what's happening here as the thread has pointed out many times. This drug is not patented, it's just that there's only one company in the US who is allowed to sell it currently, and the process to get approved to sell it is extremely expensive. So government regulation is responsible for this guy's ability to gouge patients.

 

[BoberFett]

well they will be protected by clinton from any changes.
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/a...ations-from-hedge-fund-titans-top-republicans

hedge fund titans choosing hillary clinton over top republicans

LOL, Democrats.

 

[theeedude]

Even if you don't need this drug or other drugs that are being hijacked like this, it will be paid for from your insurance, which to your employer is part of your compensation, so what could have been your raise will go to the drug companies instead. Enjoy getting hosed.

 

[fskimospy]

LOL, Democrats.

Wall St. overwhelmingly backed Obama in 2008 and then was so horrified by his actions that they overwhelmingly backed his opponent in 2012. Guess donations didn't really tell the story there, huh.

Keep up your fair and balanced critique of both sides though, friend Boberfett! Because remember, you're an independent just calling it like it is.

 

[Cozarkian]

Interesting idea. Similar could be done for copyright as well.

Still, that's not what's happening here as the thread has pointed out many times. This drug is not patented, it's just that there's only one company in the US who is allowed to sell it currently, and the process to get approved to sell it is extremely expensive. So government regulation is responsible for this guy's ability to gouge patients.

My bad. I should have posted in the more general thread about 5000% increase, but I thought it was essentially a duplicate of this one.

 

[BoberFett]

Wall St. overwhelmingly backed Obama in 2008 and then was so horrified by his actions that they overwhelmingly backed his opponent in 2012. Guess donations didn't really tell the story there, huh.

Keep up your fair and balanced critique of both sides though, friend Boberfett! Because remember, you're an independent just calling it like it is.

As Democrats always remind us, it's those dirty Republicans who love the rich and hate American, always conspiring to make the rich richer. Rich richie rich rich. Rich.

But not the Democrats, they're beacons of light in a world of darkness. Hillary is an angel, and it's only by the grace of a non-specific deity that she has been allowed to linger awhile longer on Earth, to lead us out of that darkness. All she needs is some campaign funds from a few hedge managers, and she'll make that happen.

If Democrats didn't try to constantly convince me that their shit smelled like roses, I probably wouldn't spend so much time mocking them.

 

[OverVolt]

Drugs deemed essential for a healthcare system should be cheap. There is a list for such things.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Wall St. overwhelmingly backed Obama in 2008 and then was so horrified by his actions that they overwhelmingly backed his opponent in 2012. Guess donations didn't really tell the story there, huh.

Keep up your fair and balanced critique of both sides though, friend Boberfett! Because remember, you're an independent just calling it like it is.

Like what?

All I know is that he hit the middle class with an increase in capital gains.

 

[Darwin333]

Yeah, it is just you though, the rest of us have more sense.

What percentage of pills is going to be tested? You sure can't think that popping the cap off one bottle is sufficient, do you? How many labs and techs will be needed? What's the protocol for recalling a batch of a medication when a dangerous counterfeit inevitably slips through? Who's legally responsible when a fake or tainted copy kills someone? Unless you control the entire supply line start to finish you have no idea what is actually in any pill. While most will be fine some won't be. Placebos that provide no benefit will slip through and even worse, truly dangerous fakes that cause harm will wind up in the chain too. That's why we don't allow imports in the first place.

We could import batches and test a full 10% of most drugs and still be able to sell them at retardedly lower prices. We could make the pharmaceutical companies pay for full time FDA inspectors on site to spot test all the drugs being made that will be exported to the US.

We import everydamn thing else into this country and you're saying that we can't figure out how to do it on this one certain thing that we are getting reamed on? I'm not saying just willy nilly flood the market with Chinese drugs but there are Indian pharmaceutical companies that can make drugs just as good as we can.

It's absurd to think that the US companies are the only companies on the planet that can safely make drugs and/or that we can't come up with a way to safely import them.

 

[Slew Foot]

Man this guy is taking it from all sides. Well see if anything happens, I doubt it though.

 

[JSt0rm]

the other title was better. I never would of cared enough to know a hedge fund bought it and jacked the price up.

 

[ivwshane]

Like what?

All I know is that he hit the middle class with an increase in capital gains.

Your tired talking point was debunked in 2008.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...mostly-higher-incomes-pay-capital-gains-tax-/

 

[Brian Stirling]

Wall St. overwhelmingly backed Obama in 2008 and then was so horrified by his actions that they overwhelmingly backed his opponent in 2012. Guess donations didn't really tell the story there, huh.

Keep up your fair and balanced critique of both sides though, friend Boberfett! Because remember, you're an independent just calling it like it is.

OK, then where did Obama get the money to run in 2012? Where did the money come from that filled the coffers of the PACS that backed him?


Brian

 

[John Connor]

As a cancer survivor I'm very interested to hear your thoughts about how cancer isn't real or is a scam.

No, no, NO! I didn't not say cancer wasn't real. The whole industry on drugs, etc is a money making scam. You pay out your ass for treatment! Then I see these commercials about cancer institutions and I'm like how much did they sped to advertise their facility?

Look at all the medicine commercials! Then a year latter you have some schmuck lawyer say, "did you take this pill and started to sniff your carpet uncontrollably? Then call 1-800-screw-you and we'll get the money you deserve."

My second cousin and aunt died of cancer. Second cousin lost her house with all the bills and my aunt went through hell on all the bills. It's all just a damn scam! And guess what? They still died.

 

[trenchfoot]

Man this guy is taking it from all sides. Well see if anything happens, I doubt it though.

I saw him being interviewed on one of the cable news channels. When asked if he would lower the price, he retorted with an unequivocal "NO".

I really hope he's not a typical example of a money mad Wall Streeter, although my gut tells me he is.

 

[Turkish]

I lived in the US for almost a decade through the 90s and early 00s and really loved most things about it: friendly people, beautiful nature, incentives to innovate, etc. but the one thing I hated was the healthcare system as I had to fork over crazy amounts of money for health insurance as a student and then my employer did the same on my behalf when I worked a consultant in DC.

Daraprim is distributed by GlaxoSmithKline in Turkey and is free with a doctor's prescription or you can buy a 30 count box for 25 TL (~$8). It's incomprehensible to me how the Americans are letting this go on.

 

[Strk]

No, no, NO! I didn't not say cancer wasn't real. The whole industry on drugs, etc is a money making scam. You pay out your ass for treatment! Then I see these commercials about cancer institutions and I'm like how much did they sped to advertise their facility?

Look at all the medicine commercials! Then a year latter you have some schmuck lawyer say, "did you take this pill and started to sniff your carpet uncontrollably? Then call 1-800-screw-you and we'll get the money you deserve."

My second cousin and aunt died of cancer. Second cousin lost her house with all the bills and my aunt went through hell on all the bills. It's all just a damn scam! And guess what? They still died.

Then vote for Bernie Sanders.

 

[John Connor]

Then vote for Bernie Sanders.

Pfft. Rather eat the ass from a dead skunk.

 

[John Connor]

I lived in the US for almost a decade through the 90s and early 00s and really loved most things about it: friendly people, beautiful nature, incentives to innovate, etc. but the one thing I hated was the healthcare system as I had to fork over crazy amounts of money for health insurance as a student and then my employer did the same on my behalf when I worked a consultant in DC.

Daraprim is distributed by GlaxoSmithKline in Turkey and is free with a doctor's prescription or you can buy a 30 count box for 25 TL (~$8). It's incomprehensible to me how the Americans are letting this go on.

I think the problem stems from people constantly voting the same idiot in Congress term after term. Then the people vote for idiots as President. The last great President this country had was Reagan.

 

[Strk]

Pfft. Rather eat the ass from a dead skunk.

Then enjoy companies being able to haphazardly make up prices for these drugs. Free market after all.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Another company did something similar (2,000% increase) and is now supposedly reversing it; http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/tb-drug-price-cycloserine-1.3237868

And, looks like we have a new breed of Vulture Capitalists;

"It's people coming from hedge funds," said Attaran. 'It is people looking to make a quick buck."

The patent on cycloserine expired long ago. Elsewhere in the world, it sells for 22 cents US a pill. It is considered an essential medicine by the World Health Organization.

 

[DCal430]

A big issue too is this drug was developed over 60 years ago, it isn't a new a drug. The FDA seems to given this company the sole right to sell this drug in the U.S, a right that apparently is forever. So their won't ever be a generic version of this drug.

FYI while this drug in the U.S is mostly used for people with HIV, globally this drug is primary used for Malaria.

 

[Strk]

A big issue too is this drug was developed over 60 years ago, it isn't a new a drug. The FDA seems to given this company the sole right to sell this drug in the U.S, a right that apparently is forever. So their won't ever be a generic version of this drug.

FYI while this drug in the U.S is mostly used for people with HIV, globally this drug is primary used for Malaria.

While that is definitely a problem in the US, it is a bit more complicated than that. You have a general lack of competition globally, so some of these companies can do whatever they want.

 

[Genx87]

So allow more than one manufacturer to make this drug. I'm sure many will jump into the market at well below this guys 5000% increase in price. Granting more power to central planners to regulate price is fucking stupid. They already fucked this one up to setup a situation like this. Why give them more opportunity to fuck it up more?

Fast track allowing more manufacturers. Watch as this guy crumbles under the weight of competition.

 

[Attic]

Even if you don't need this drug or other drugs that are being hijacked like this, it will be paid for from your insurance, which to your employer is part of your compensation, so what could have been your raise will go to the drug companies instead. Enjoy getting hosed.

Correct. A lot of if not all of a drug surge price like this can be picked up by "everyone" participating in health insurance via cost absorption.


Nice Video detailing the finer points of what happened in this case.
Daraprim Price Increase