How I Got the $84k Hepatitis C Drug for $1500 by Buying It from India • Hacker News Board

Re: How I Got the $84k Hepatitis C Drug for $1500 by Buying It from India

#111

Post by MichaelBurge » Mon, May 09, 2016, 3:48 AM UTC

refurb wrote: post #86

MichaelBurge wrote: post #64

A quick Google search shows that they paid $11 billion for the company that sells the drug(Sovaldi), and earned $1.3 billion off of it[1] in 2016. They make half of that in the US, and something like 10% of it in all places that aren't the US, Europe, or Japan. That's a 12% return in 2016, which isn't nearly as good as the comments in this thread would have you believe. It's an okay return, but it wouldn't really be…

Even more interesting, the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF), which reviews the cost effectiveness of new technology, said the $95K price tag for Harvoni was cost effective .[1] However, they also said that current budgets mean it would only be affordable at half the price. [1] http://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/ca-panel-gilead-s-harvoni...

I bet if they committed to spending $x billion, they could get it at half price just by asking. Probably even quarter or 1/8 price too.

Re: How I Got the $84k Hepatitis C Drug for $1500 by Buying It from India

#112

Post by tracker1 » Mon, May 09, 2016, 3:51 AM UTC

rdtsc wrote: post #68

jessriedel wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it bother you that Europe and the rest of the developing world also free-ride subtantially?

Not particularly. By the way pharmaceutical companies also free ride on public universities. Research is often done there. Even if it is from grants, it often means professors end up working and spending their time for pharma companies instead of doing other things like teaching students. Moreover, if our goal is to win hearts and minds and I don't know, promote Democracy (at least that is what the propaganda tells u…

But pharma companies aren't competing in a free market... I can't by (prescription X) from a canadian drug store. So it's not globalized, except for the protectionist patent laws and treaties surrounding them.

It's time to reign in patent protections, specifically regarding extension patents, and bring in compulsory license maximums for prescription medicines. Give drug companies 5 years exclusivity once they react market... after that they can only charge X per day for licensing... imho that should probably be $10/day/prescription, and drop every year.

Re: How I Got the $84k Hepatitis C Drug for $1500 by Buying It from India

#113

Post by rayiner » Mon, May 09, 2016, 3:53 AM UTC

discardorama wrote: post #101

rayiner wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you think Silicon Valley would work if the ROI on their unicorns was limited to 20%?

We are talking 20% ROI, year after year, for the duration of the patent (17 years). That's a 22x ROI. Most SV investors would drool themselves into a pool at the thought.

Sovaldi is a unicorn. Returns for VC firms who were early investors in Facebook were 200-100x. Sequoia and Kleiner-Perkins got 160x on Google's IPO. Sequoia's return on Linked-In was almost 30x.

Re: How I Got the $84k Hepatitis C Drug for $1500 by Buying It from India

#114

Post by cheriot » Mon, May 09, 2016, 3:53 AM UTC

Eminent domain is not just for land. In extreme cases like this where a profit motive is the only thing keeping us from curing huge numbers of people, the US government should write a single check, take the rights, and start handing out pills.

As far as the company is concerned, that could even be a preferable outcome. Cash now and the marketing benefits to promote its other drugs.

Edit: Just a reminder that eminent domain requires paying the property owner. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_compensation

Re: How I Got the $84k Hepatitis C Drug for $1500 by Buying It from India

#115

Post by evanpw » Mon, May 09, 2016, 3:54 AM UTC

drauh wrote: post #99

ikeboy wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is giving people jobs exploiting them again?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides

"The suicide rate at Foxconn during 2010 remained lower than that of the general Chinese population at the time as well as all 50 states of the United States."

Re: How I Got the $84k Hepatitis C Drug for $1500 by Buying It from India

#116

Post by nickpsecurity » Mon, May 09, 2016, 4:00 AM UTC

cheriot wrote: post #114

Eminent domain is not just for land. In extreme cases like this where a profit motive is the only thing keeping us from curing huge numbers of people, the US government should write a single check, take the rights, and start handing out pills. As far as the company is concerned, that could even be a preferable outcome. Cash now and the marketing benefits to promote its other drugs. Edit: Just a reminder that eminent…

We could do that. On other hand, we could just pay them the expected market value of the drug when they first invent it then give it to public for almost nothing.

"You can cure cancer with those three drugs? Was going to make tens of billions? Here you go: guarantee of tens of billions of subsidies over next 20 years in exchange for the patent and license for anyone to produce it generically."

Boom! Tens of thousands of lives saved a year. Way better than investing into the TSA. :)

Re: How I Got the $84k Hepatitis C Drug for $1500 by Buying It from India

#117

Post by nickpsecurity » Mon, May 09, 2016, 4:03 AM UTC

evanpw wrote: post #115

drauh wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides

"The suicide rate at Foxconn during 2010 remained lower than that of the general Chinese population at the time as well as all 50 states of the United States."

What is the rate of employers whose practices cause a large group of their employees to jump off their building all at once? I can't remember ever seeing that headline in U.S. papers except referring to China and such. Must be rare here.

I wonder what the rate of mass suicide is in general for "all 50 states of the United States" vs Chinese companies like Foxconn.

Re: How I Got the $84k Hepatitis C Drug for $1500 by Buying It from India

#118

Post by verroq » Mon, May 09, 2016, 4:04 AM UTC

pavel_lishin wrote: post #104

hourislate wrote: post #94

I was under the impression most Pharma Companies will give it to you for free if you don't have insurance and can't afford it. Maybe it's different if you have insurance and they won't pay for it. The article is unfair mentioning Shkreli. He has always offered his drugs for free to anyone that couldn't afford them. It has always been his policy and continues to be so. I think it was the Insurers and their paid for Po…

> The article is unfair mentioning Shkreli. He has always offered his drugs for free to anyone that couldn't afford them. [citation needed]

>We pledge that no patient needing DARAPRIM will be denied access

>If you are uninsured and meet eligibility critera, you can get DARAPRIM for no cost

http://www.daraprimdirect.com/patients

Re: How I Got the $84k Hepatitis C Drug for $1500 by Buying It from India

#119

Post by pgodzin » Mon, May 09, 2016, 4:04 AM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #51

bogomipz wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a strawman argument and you know it. A car is financed over 5 years. You can't get financing on pharmaceuticals. The "average" wedding is an equally bad comparison and your figure is wrong - average is actully 26K with majority of weddings under $10k: http://www.costofwedding.com/ It is absolutely reprehensible behavior. If $1,500 is a reasonable price point and profit margin for a company elsewhere in the wor…

> A car is financed over 5 years. You can't get financing on pharmaceuticals. As a matter of economics, the value of something doesn't (or shouldn't) depend on how easy it is to get financing for that thing. In fact, your financing example cuts the other way . That $33k new car is actually worth more like $40k to the buyer, because that's how much they pay after financing it. The market shows that people value an ave…

Or Gilead is exploiting dying people desperate to save their lives and have enough money to do so, while letting the rest die. And then I'm sure they are lobbying the government to make sure it won't do anything about it.

Meanwhile, Apple is selling luxury products that people can buy if they would like to. And those that can't, survive just fine without one.

Re: How I Got the $84k Hepatitis C Drug for $1500 by Buying It from India

#120

Post by CaptSpify » Mon, May 09, 2016, 4:05 AM UTC

forrestthewoods wrote: post #109

GreaterFool wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a private global (excluding USA) medical insurance that covers costs (no in-patient) up to 1M and it costs me $1k/year. I've been hearing about Obamacare for years and always thought "well, it's good that more people will have insurance". But when my colleagues in US told me what their deductibles on a good insurance plan are ( thousands of dollars. my deductibles are $375) I was floored. The whole medical sys…

America subsidizes the health care of the entire world. Because such a large portion of health profit comes from the US. If the US ceased to exist then global prices would increase and global research would decrease.

> America subsidizes the health care of the entire world.

Howso?