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NIH trial of remdesivir for COVID-19 begins in hospitalized adults in Nebraska

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Re: NIH trial of remdesivir for COVID-19 begins in hospitalized adults in Nebraska

#11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you know, we can determine that the cost of keeping people healthy is a social good and invest in that. I don't think we need market indicators to show that we don't want people to die. And we know that that market signal distorts the needs addressed so that chronic alleviation things get more attention than one-time cures...

> Or you know, we can determine that the cost of keeping people healthy is a social good and invest in that. Social goods that we ostensibly invest in, often are crappy career paths in terms of pay. If you don't believe me, talk with a teacher. We know that few things contribute to the social good as much as a good education, but tell me honestly. If you knew a poor, smart, hard working kid, what career path would yo…

A teacher can be a software developer as well.

Re: NIH trial of remdesivir for COVID-19 begins in hospitalized adults in Nebraska

#12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you know, we can determine that the cost of keeping people healthy is a social good and invest in that. I don't think we need market indicators to show that we don't want people to die. And we know that that market signal distorts the needs addressed so that chronic alleviation things get more attention than one-time cures...

> Or you know, we can determine that the cost of keeping people healthy is a social good and invest in that. Social goods that we ostensibly invest in, often are crappy career paths in terms of pay. If you don't believe me, talk with a teacher. We know that few things contribute to the social good as much as a good education, but tell me honestly. If you knew a poor, smart, hard working kid, what career path would yo…

> what career path would you suggest, teacher or software developer?

Depends on what they like to do. There is a lot we can change so that people can do what they love without punishing careers that aren't directly tied to profit.

Re: NIH trial of remdesivir for COVID-19 begins in hospitalized adults in Nebraska

#13

> Remdesivir, developed by Gilead Sciences Inc., This is the same Gilead Sciences that developed a cure for Hepatitis C, but was crucified in the press because of the high upfront cost. I want pharma to makes lots of money so they care hire lots of smart people. I want developing cures for viruses and diseases to be at least as a good a career path for smart kids in the future as working for a Silicon Valley company…

Or you know, we can determine that the cost of keeping people healthy is a social good and invest in that. I don't think we need market indicators to show that we don't want people to die. And we know that that market signal distorts the needs addressed so that chronic alleviation things get more attention than one-time cures...

There are smart people that want to earn more than a "social good" paycheck, whatever amount you peg that at.

That's the issue with your "social good" approach, is that by capping the upside, you're capping the control one can exercise over their own livelihoods.

The smart scientist wanted to send their kid to a more expensive Montessori preschool instead of a neighborhood preschool? Too bad. You are capped at the socially accepted able salary range.

No matter how much extra work, training, contributions, the smart person would inject into their career, they are forever capped at the socially good rate.

Re: NIH trial of remdesivir for COVID-19 begins in hospitalized adults in Nebraska

#14

I don't understand why they aren't trialing chloroquine. Isn't it more readily available and cheaper? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41422-020-0282-0

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04261517?cond=covid-1...

That is studying hydroxychloroquine, a less toxic metabolite of chloroquine.

If you navigate up a bit on that web site and enter COVID-19 for your search you will find about 50 studies, roughly a dozen or so are checking drugs.

Re: NIH trial of remdesivir for COVID-19 begins in hospitalized adults in Nebraska

#16

I don't understand why they aren't trialing chloroquine. Isn't it more readily available and cheaper? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41422-020-0282-0

Clinical trials cost a lot of money, which someone has to pay for. Chloroquine is long out of patent and nobody has much incentive to run trials for it.

It should be the job of the NIH to sponsor trials for out-of-patent medicines, but they aren't very effective at it compared to pharma companies.

Re: NIH trial of remdesivir for COVID-19 begins in hospitalized adults in Nebraska

#17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you know, we can determine that the cost of keeping people healthy is a social good and invest in that. I don't think we need market indicators to show that we don't want people to die. And we know that that market signal distorts the needs addressed so that chronic alleviation things get more attention than one-time cures...

> Or you know, we can determine that the cost of keeping people healthy is a social good and invest in that. Social goods that we ostensibly invest in, often are crappy career paths in terms of pay. If you don't believe me, talk with a teacher. We know that few things contribute to the social good as much as a good education, but tell me honestly. If you knew a poor, smart, hard working kid, what career path would yo…

Or maybe extreme, frontier-inspired individualism went obsolete once the West was Won?

I’m all for smart people being paid well to work hard. But there has to be a better model. Perhaps something similar to the massive payouts we see lawyers getting in class action suits, except instead of law firms and defendants we have drug researchers and illnesses.

Re: NIH trial of remdesivir for COVID-19 begins in hospitalized adults in Nebraska

#18

> Remdesivir, developed by Gilead Sciences Inc., This is the same Gilead Sciences that developed a cure for Hepatitis C, but was crucified in the press because of the high upfront cost. I want pharma to makes lots of money so they care hire lots of smart people. I want developing cures for viruses and diseases to be at least as a good a career path for smart kids in the future as working for a Silicon Valley company…

This is an interesting point that I hadn't considered. While I am resentful of pharmaceutical and insurance companies that prioritize profit over peoples' health, it does feel a little more just to tax companies creating frivolous social media ad platforms than companies doing drug research.

Re: NIH trial of remdesivir for COVID-19 begins in hospitalized adults in Nebraska

#19
post #10

> Remdesivir, developed by Gilead Sciences Inc., This is the same Gilead Sciences that developed a cure for Hepatitis C, but was crucified in the press because of the high upfront cost. I want pharma to makes lots of money so they care hire lots of smart people. I want developing cures for viruses and diseases to be at least as a good a career path for smart kids in the future as working for a Silicon Valley company…

There's a difference between ensuring companies creating beneficial products are financially rewarded and asking the customers to pay the full cost. The government can step in to pay for serious illnesses so we don't let people die from newly cured diseases. This already happens with Medicare/Medicaid, and it is tough to ask state governments to spend millions to cure a handful of people, but the alternative is cappi…

What?

If the people who do the basic research patent their work, sure they get financially rewarded for it.

Go talk to the chemist at Northwestern who discovered Lyrica. Or the CF Foundation who made billions from Kalydeco.

Re: NIH trial of remdesivir for COVID-19 begins in hospitalized adults in Nebraska

#20

> Remdesivir, developed by Gilead Sciences Inc., This is the same Gilead Sciences that developed a cure for Hepatitis C, but was crucified in the press because of the high upfront cost. I want pharma to makes lots of money so they care hire lots of smart people. I want developing cures for viruses and diseases to be at least as a good a career path for smart kids in the future as working for a Silicon Valley company…

Or you know, we can determine that the cost of keeping people healthy is a social good and invest in that. I don't think we need market indicators to show that we don't want people to die. And we know that that market signal distorts the needs addressed so that chronic alleviation things get more attention than one-time cures...

If the free market doesn’t determine what diseases are targeted, then it’s just some govt official doing it. Which, undoubtedly, will succumb to political games.

There aren’t enough resources out there to tackle every disease.

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