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Turing CEO Defends $750 Pill in Reddit AMA

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11–20 of 56 posts

Re: Turing CEO Defends $750 Pill in Reddit AMA

#11
He should get his head of R&D (Dr. Eliseo Salinas ) to do a kickstarter to raise money for research into a better toxoplasmosis drug. Either it would be successful and he could do what he says he wants to do, or he would make the point he's trying to make about the fact that fundraising to get a drug all the way through clinical trials to market is expensive and it falls on the backs of sick patients in basically every other case.

Or he would be forced to reveal that he actually is just in this as a common rent-seeker.

Re: Turing CEO Defends $750 Pill in Reddit AMA

#12
The problem with healthcare in America is insurance. When you are insured and insurance is paying for everything patients don't care how much anything costs. (See Tragedy of the Commons).

And the drug companies charge $250 to $750 a pill or $14,000 for a years worth of drugs (recent cholesterol drugs Repatha and Praluent) to $250,000 (cancer drugs) and the drug companies justify it by saying insurance pays for it anyway. Drug companies are charging Americans 26,000% higher than in other countries (eg: Cuprimine, for which Valeant charges $260 per pill is available for $1 in other countries.)

The net result is that insurance rates are rising rapidly, and even if you have insurance you may not be able to make the copay.

As much as I hate socialism, the only solution appears to be Single Payer.

Re: Turing CEO Defends $750 Pill in Reddit AMA

#14
post #12

The problem with healthcare in America is insurance. When you are insured and insurance is paying for everything patients don't care how much anything costs. (See Tragedy of the Commons). And the drug companies charge $250 to $750 a pill or $14,000 for a years worth of drugs (recent cholesterol drugs Repatha and Praluent) to $250,000 (cancer drugs) and the drug companies justify it by saying insurance pays for it any…

What does this have to do with socialism? How does drug companies charging for an arm and a leg or insurance companies paying for it and raising premiums relate to socialism?

Re: Turing CEO Defends $750 Pill in Reddit AMA

#15
post #14
post #12

The problem with healthcare in America is insurance. When you are insured and insurance is paying for everything patients don't care how much anything costs. (See Tragedy of the Commons). And the drug companies charge $250 to $750 a pill or $14,000 for a years worth of drugs (recent cholesterol drugs Repatha and Praluent) to $250,000 (cancer drugs) and the drug companies justify it by saying insurance pays for it any…

What does this have to do with socialism? How does drug companies charging for an arm and a leg or insurance companies paying for it and raising premiums relate to socialism?

[deleted]

Re: Turing CEO Defends $750 Pill in Reddit AMA

#16
post #14
post #12

The problem with healthcare in America is insurance. When you are insured and insurance is paying for everything patients don't care how much anything costs. (See Tragedy of the Commons). And the drug companies charge $250 to $750 a pill or $14,000 for a years worth of drugs (recent cholesterol drugs Repatha and Praluent) to $250,000 (cancer drugs) and the drug companies justify it by saying insurance pays for it any…

What does this have to do with socialism? How does drug companies charging for an arm and a leg or insurance companies paying for it and raising premiums relate to socialism?

Single-payer is socialized medicine.

Re: Turing CEO Defends $750 Pill in Reddit AMA

#17
post #12

The problem with healthcare in America is insurance. When you are insured and insurance is paying for everything patients don't care how much anything costs. (See Tragedy of the Commons). And the drug companies charge $250 to $750 a pill or $14,000 for a years worth of drugs (recent cholesterol drugs Repatha and Praluent) to $250,000 (cancer drugs) and the drug companies justify it by saying insurance pays for it any…

Drug costs are ~10% of total healthcare costs in the US. Are drug prices a problem? Yes. Are they the main cause of our outrageous healthcare spending? No.

Re: Turing CEO Defends $750 Pill in Reddit AMA

#18
post #10

Seems completely unapologetic. I'm trying to be shocked, but then, he's apparently still CEO, so clearly the company that employs him can't be that outraged by his behavior.

I think it's /his/ company..

It's good to be the king.

Re: Turing CEO Defends $750 Pill in Reddit AMA

#19
post #14
post #12

The problem with healthcare in America is insurance. When you are insured and insurance is paying for everything patients don't care how much anything costs. (See Tragedy of the Commons). And the drug companies charge $250 to $750 a pill or $14,000 for a years worth of drugs (recent cholesterol drugs Repatha and Praluent) to $250,000 (cancer drugs) and the drug companies justify it by saying insurance pays for it any…

What does this have to do with socialism? How does drug companies charging for an arm and a leg or insurance companies paying for it and raising premiums relate to socialism?

He wants the tax payer to pay for it instead of insurance owners.

Re: Turing CEO Defends $750 Pill in Reddit AMA

#20
post #12

The problem with healthcare in America is insurance. When you are insured and insurance is paying for everything patients don't care how much anything costs. (See Tragedy of the Commons). And the drug companies charge $250 to $750 a pill or $14,000 for a years worth of drugs (recent cholesterol drugs Repatha and Praluent) to $250,000 (cancer drugs) and the drug companies justify it by saying insurance pays for it any…

Didn't a competitor introduce a better version of the $750 pill priced at $1? Isn't that proof of free market efficiency working?

Indeed much of the rising insurance costs appear to be government-mandated purchasing of a highly-regulated service, a la affordable care act. That's just elementary economics. The FDA-imposed regulatory hurdles to medical innovation also drive up costs and protect the price gougers from competition.

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