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I'm making drugs for cats

trevorklee.substack.com

21–30 of 101 posts

Re: I'm making drugs for cats

#21
post #4
post #2

Easier regulatory environments. Not only do you not need to talk to the FDA before testing your drug in animals, cats are way less likely to sue you if they get sick from your drug. Of course, we’d still do our best to make sure they didn’t, but it’s less likely to sink the entire company if they do.

I thought this is paraphrased, but this is lifted straight from the article. This is so incredibly wrong I simply couldn't get past this statement.

Is it? It seems like it's just acknowledging a objectively true reality. In the US getting sued for failed human medical intervention is common and costly. Courts (and juries I'm sure) don't look on animal lives with the same value as they do human lives. You might have a different value system, but the article isn't talking about your moral system, it's talking about objective reality.

Re: I'm making drugs for cats

#22
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>veterinary surgery is so much cheaper (i.e. affordable to ordinary people) than human surgery.... ..."in the USA". At a guess, I'd say it's the complete opposite in Europe with it's pesky human healthcare systems.

To be fair, human surgery also costs a lot in Europe. It's just not paid by the patient. It's not healthcare in itself that is free but health insurance.

It also costs less.

How many European doctors make more than $500k / year ? The average orthopedic makes roughly that (https://www.kaptest.com/study/mcat/doctor-salaries-by-specia...)

Re: I'm making drugs for cats

#23
My cat got bartonella which caused this condition and had to have all his teeth removed. Prior to the surgery he was in absolute misery, and the only treatment was steroids that did little and aren't meant for longtime use. The surgery was several thousand dollars, out of reach for a lot of families. An effective treatment for this condition would be great!

Re: I'm making drugs for cats

#24
post #4
post #2

Easier regulatory environments. Not only do you not need to talk to the FDA before testing your drug in animals, cats are way less likely to sue you if they get sick from your drug. Of course, we’d still do our best to make sure they didn’t, but it’s less likely to sink the entire company if they do.

I thought this is paraphrased, but this is lifted straight from the article. This is so incredibly wrong I simply couldn't get past this statement.

Correct, that comment was italicized to show that it was lifted straight from the article

Re: I'm making drugs for cats

#25
post #11

> I linked up with an excellent corporate attorney and patent attorney, both of whom agreed to let me use their services on a pay later basis. I'm curious about this "pay later" arrangement - does it simply mean they'll invoice you on 30 day terms, or something else?

The corporate attorney agreed not to require me to pay any of their invoices until I closed a seed round, while the patent attorney let me pay their invoices a full year after I received them. These sorts of arrangements are common with attorneys who work with startups.

Re: I'm making drugs for cats

#26
post #22
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, human surgery also costs a lot in Europe. It's just not paid by the patient. It's not healthcare in itself that is free but health insurance.

It also costs less. How many European doctors make more than $500k / year ? The average orthopedic makes roughly that ( https://www.kaptest.com/study/mcat/doctor-salaries-by-specia... )

And that's a huge problem. All our doctors (Eastern EU here) are leaving for UK, US, or richer western EU countries. To resolve that, we have a law that requires newly graduate doctors to stay and work here for a long time (10 years here IIRC), which is rightly seen as a serious issue wrt. their personal freedom. That pushes people away from pursuing medical degrees.

It's cheaper, but that has its price too.

Re: I'm making drugs for cats

#27
If this was published on Medium, I would have highlighted this paragraph: "On the human side, the FDA mostly considers their responsibility to be to stop unsafe or ineffective drugs from entering the marketplace, and believes that allowing safe and effective drugs to enter the marketplace is a secondary goal."

Re: I'm making drugs for cats

#29
god this article sounds like a writing prompt.

"im making drugs for cats!" I shreik in my underwear as the FBI raids my derelict RV full of cat clozapine and TV dinner trays.

"im making drugs for cats" I calmly explain as i wheel a teetering trolly full of drain cleaner and paint thinner toward my car.

"im making drugs...for cats?" I shake my head as the prospect of tenure track seems to fade away.

Re: I'm making drugs for cats

#30
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also costs less. How many European doctors make more than $500k / year ? The average orthopedic makes roughly that ( https://www.kaptest.com/study/mcat/doctor-salaries-by-specia... )

And that's a huge problem. All our doctors (Eastern EU here) are leaving for UK, US, or richer western EU countries. To resolve that, we have a law that requires newly graduate doctors to stay and work here for a long time (10 years here IIRC), which is rightly seen as a serious issue wrt. their personal freedom. That pushes people away from pursuing medical degrees. It's cheaper, but that has its price too.

> All our doctors (Eastern EU here) are leaving for UK, US, or richer western EU countries

To be fair. That's true of educated people in general, not just doctors.

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