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A Huge Overnight Increase in a Drug’s Price Raises Protests

nytimes.com

121–124 of 124 posts

Re: A Huge Overnight Increase in a Drug’s Price Raises Protests

#121
post #112
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No offence to you, but you're so capitalist it's to the detriment of human health and you should be ashamed. I'm asthmatic, My life can cease in a pretty painful way if I'm denied access to drugs- my illness is an easily preventable one, so why should I die gasping? You're right I'll pay anything to keep living.. I'll literally starve before I stop paying for my medication. But why would you wish that upon me? Becaus…

> you should be ashamed I know this is an internet convention of sorts, but please don't do it here, even when someone advocates bad policy. HN comments should be free of personal swipes, especially otherwise decent comments like this one.

You're quite right, I apologise.

I was rather dumbfounded when I wrote it and I should have taken the time to calm down and proof before submitting.

Re: A Huge Overnight Increase in a Drug’s Price Raises Protests

#122
post #121
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you should be ashamed I know this is an internet convention of sorts, but please don't do it here, even when someone advocates bad policy. HN comments should be free of personal swipes, especially otherwise decent comments like this one.

You're quite right, I apologise. I was rather dumbfounded when I wrote it and I should have taken the time to calm down and proof before submitting.

It happens to all of us!

Re: A Huge Overnight Increase in a Drug’s Price Raises Protests

#123
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Without samples of the original, it's impossible to prove a generic is equivalent. I know we're in FDA-land where logic doesn't rule, but this beggars belief. This is similar to the nonsense by which HFA inhalers knocking generic CFC inhalers off the market. Any competent organic chemist can tell you if you've got pyrimethamine or not. This isn't some exotic chemical. There's published spectra ( http://webbook.nist…

I don't see what's illogical about it. Generics get approval without extensive testing under the idea that they're equivalent to an already tested drug. How do you do that without ensuring its actually equivalent in all respects?

If the FDA has approved certain pharmacodynamics, these should be characterized. With well characterized bioavailability curves, re-running the original experiment doesn't tell you anything.

If the FDA is instead approving other characteristics by happenstance, it leaves open the door to market abuses like the one we're seeing.

Re: A Huge Overnight Increase in a Drug’s Price Raises Protests

#124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A government can be held accountable. Accountability is not really the main measure we care about (though it's related to it). It's efficiency. We only really care about accountability because its supposed to increase efficiency. People are supposed to get punished when things are running poorly. The problem is, no one really gets punished when large government organizations are running inefficiently. The business…

I am willing to trade some efficiency/cost effectiveness for price and availability stability.

In the longer term you'll get the worst of all worlds. Why not get the best of the short term and long term?

Fix pharma competition.

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