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Sirum (YC W15) Recycles Unused Medicines to Save Money and Lives

opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com

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Re: Sirum (YC W15) Recycles Unused Medicines to Save Money and Lives

#11

Post by akircher »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #10
akircher wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. We do think financial sustainability is one of the most important ways for nonprofits to keep focused on their mission and scale their impact.

What do you think about the idea of a non-profit generic drug manufacturer? I've always thought Medicare would jump at the idea of slashing its drug costs, but undertaking something like this is a crazy huge project.

If you can overcome the high capital costs, I think it could be very successful. You may want to check out One World Health which is a nonprofit drug development organization that does incredible work as well.

Re: Sirum (YC W15) Recycles Unused Medicines to Save Money and Lives

#12

Post by ngoel36 »

ajiang wrote: post #4

An incredible idea. Very proud to see new sustainable models for nonprofits going through YC, especially ones that actually save lives.

The website says "unopened" donations are accepted - what is this limited to? Does that mean if I have 12 malaria pills in an open container (for a 10 day regimen) I can't donate the leftover 2?

Re: Sirum (YC W15) Recycles Unused Medicines to Save Money and Lives

#13

Post by ngoel36 »

Incredible idea! I wish we could do this for food, as well.

And I don't mean food banks or soup kitchens. I mean the second McDonald's burger I was too stuffed to eat, or even the 8th leftover slice of pizza (as good as it is cold, somebody else could probably benefit from it more).

The logistics and legal challenges are mind-boggling, but there has to be a way.

Re: Sirum (YC W15) Recycles Unused Medicines to Save Money and Lives

#14

Post by Scoundreller »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #10
akircher wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. We do think financial sustainability is one of the most important ways for nonprofits to keep focused on their mission and scale their impact.

What do you think about the idea of a non-profit generic drug manufacturer? I've always thought Medicare would jump at the idea of slashing its drug costs, but undertaking something like this is a crazy huge project.

Generic drugs are fairly cheap.

It's more a matter of whether your country's regulator lets them in, and/or if you have enough retail competition to drive down prices close to their actual cost.

Re: Sirum (YC W15) Recycles Unused Medicines to Save Money and Lives

#15

Post by akircher »

ngoel36 wrote: post #12
ajiang wrote: post #4

An incredible idea. Very proud to see new sustainable models for nonprofits going through YC, especially ones that actually save lives.

The website says "unopened" donations are accepted - what is this limited to? Does that mean if I have 12 malaria pills in an open container (for a 10 day regimen) I can't donate the leftover 2?

A lot of the medication at these institutions are bubble packed, so you could donate the last 2 in those cases. Thankfully this is the vast majority of our volume right now. If it's an open bottle it would depend on the type of donor whether it could be re-sealed. For example, a pharmacy could.

Re: Sirum (YC W15) Recycles Unused Medicines to Save Money and Lives

#16

Post by j_lev »

I didn't realise the situation with throwing out medicines was so bad in the US. For comparison, pharmacies in Australia have always been a place where you would return unused medicine, where it is destroyed (some medicine just cannot be reused), reused or shipped to developing countries (used to be able to send recently-expired medicine that was still effective but I think I read this was no longer the case)

Re: Sirum (YC W15) Recycles Unused Medicines to Save Money and Lives

#17

Post by akircher »

j_lev wrote: post #16

I didn't realise the situation with throwing out medicines was so bad in the US. For comparison, pharmacies in Australia have always been a place where you would return unused medicine, where it is destroyed (some medicine just cannot be reused), reused or shipped to developing countries (used to be able to send recently-expired medicine that was still effective but I think I read this was no longer the case)

It's refreshing to hear that at least one country seems to have solved this problem. Here in the US we have a whole industry of Reverse Distributors (Stericycle, Genco, INMAR) whose job is to sort and then incinerate unused medicine.

Re: Sirum (YC W15) Recycles Unused Medicines to Save Money and Lives

#19

Post by cauterized »

ngoel36 wrote: post #13

Incredible idea! I wish we could do this for food, as well. And I don't mean food banks or soup kitchens. I mean the second McDonald's burger I was too stuffed to eat, or even the 8th leftover slice of pizza (as good as it is cold, somebody else could probably benefit from it more). The logistics and legal challenges are mind-boggling, but there has to be a way.

There's an organization in NYC called City Harvest that "rescues" food every night that restaurants, supermarkets, farmers markets, bakeries, and the like are unable to sell, and distributes it by the truckload to soup kitchens and food pantries. Hundreds of tons every week.

They are very strict about what donations they'll accept. Even what's left in a buffet at the end of the night can't be donated. There's too much risk of contamination and spoilage. With your leftover burger there's no way to be confident you've practiced appropriate food care (refrigeration; how long you've kept it) even if you never unwrapped the thing -- let alone the slice of pizza that you probably touched with your bare hands and for all anyone knows is harboring flu virus or strep.

You're right, the liabilities make it unrealistic. How about buying a little bit less food and either donating the money you'd save to an org like City Harvest or buying a sandwich for the next homeless guy you pass on the street?

Re: Sirum (YC W15) Recycles Unused Medicines to Save Money and Lives

#20

Post by Scoundreller »

akircher wrote: post #15
ngoel36 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The website says "unopened" donations are accepted - what is this limited to? Does that mean if I have 12 malaria pills in an open container (for a 10 day regimen) I can't donate the leftover 2?

A lot of the medication at these institutions are bubble packed, so you could donate the last 2 in those cases. Thankfully this is the vast majority of our volume right now. If it's an open bottle it would depend on the type of donor whether it could be re-sealed. For example, a pharmacy could.

> If it's an open bottle it would depend on the type of donor whether it could be re-sealed.

Be careful as some medications are very moisture-sensitive, light-sensitive or oxygen-sensitive.

For example: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm248746.htm

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