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Novo Nordisk facing pressure as study finds $1k drug can be made for $5

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Re: Novo Nordisk facing pressure as study finds $1k drug can be made for $5

#81
All drug research and production should just be done with public money by the public sector. Drug companies are already deeply reliant on university produced researchers and research, and in most cases the actual drug production is trivial. Imagine the human and economic benefits if there was no profit barrier to health.

Re: Novo Nordisk facing pressure as study finds $1k drug can be made for $5

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Insulin isn't a single product. If you're not distinguishing between insulin extracted from a horse circa 1922 and a modern synthetic analog, well that's just not being honest. There's good arguments that the modern synthetic analogs are overpriced, but that's a more subtle argument.

The situation described in that Lancet article doesn’t seem very subtle. And if the US is able to impose maximum pricing that is so much lower, it would seem likely that price gouging was occurring.

The lancet 'article' doesn't actually say anything. It's just a political hack job.

Re: Novo Nordisk facing pressure as study finds $1k drug can be made for $5

#84
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It takes $300m to $2B to get a drug approved. And the approval rate is less than 12%. The crazy pricing is to compensate for the failed projects. Also, it's not like you can bootstrap yourself or grow organically like Startups. You have to wait for like 10 - 15 years. To actually start selling it. [1]: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.policymed.com/amp/2014/12/a...

> Also, it's not like you can bootstrap yourself or grow organically like Startups. So if they have a effectively built monopoly, chopping down the maximum they can charge via regulation would seem sensible wouldn’t it?

there is also a lot of problems with pharma not wanting to invest in cures for smaller diseases because the payback seems unlikely to happen or not be great enough to warrant the risk, so this seems like a pretty good vote getting maneuver that might have unintended consequences.

Re: Novo Nordisk facing pressure as study finds $1k drug can be made for $5

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's not a single drug company on the market that stops charging a high price for a drug as soon its covered its research expenditure.

Should they not profit on that capital invested for that research? Do landlords drop rents when the loan is paid off? Of course not, they’re going to price rents what the market supports. Competition is what makes markets work. Invent a drug? And someone else invents a similar drug? Prices will go down.

There's no free market for lifesaving drugs. Just extortion.

Re: Novo Nordisk facing pressure as study finds $1k drug can be made for $5

#87
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Insulin isn't a single product. If you're not distinguishing between insulin extracted from a horse circa 1922 and a modern synthetic analog, well that's just not being honest. There's good arguments that the modern synthetic analogs are overpriced, but that's a more subtle argument.

When people complain about being forced to pay thousands a month for insulin, they're talking about the newest synthetic insulins that were developed very recently at substantial costs. They could take the older insulins for $50 a month, no one is stopping them. It's just that those older products are less convenient.

So why is older insulin more expensive in the US than elsewhere, by a large margin?

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cost-of-insulin-by-country/

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA788-2.html

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cost-of-i...

Re: Novo Nordisk facing pressure as study finds $1k drug can be made for $5

#88
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It takes $300m to $2B to get a drug approved. And the approval rate is less than 12%. The crazy pricing is to compensate for the failed projects. Also, it's not like you can bootstrap yourself or grow organically like Startups. You have to wait for like 10 - 15 years. To actually start selling it. [1]: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.policymed.com/amp/2014/12/a...

> Also, it's not like you can bootstrap yourself or grow organically like Startups. So if they have a effectively built monopoly, chopping down the maximum they can charge via regulation would seem sensible wouldn’t it?

I think that's difficult to implement. There's a risk that companies might end up not launching new products on the US market

There's several factors that impact US drug prices. For instance FDA approvals are significantly more costly than EMA ones and the bargaining power of healthcare providers is worse compared to a single payer system

I have no knowledge of US laws, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kind of law preventing government interference with "the free market"

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