41–50 of 74 posts
http://asserttrue.blogspot.com/2013/02/taeubers-paradox-and-...
Some context. One of the drugs in the combination Ipillimumab has been used for a while now, and seems to produce long term survival in about 10% of patients with incurable melanoma. Some of these patients seem effectively cured, having survived 7 years or more without any other treatment. It seems likely that combination therapy will produce a better rate of effective cure. This is a pretty big deal, because advance…
> Cost effectiveness... well ipillimumab costs 100k a year for 4 doses, and nivolumab is probably going to cost another 100k at least on top of that, and is generally continued indefinitely, and the medication to turn off overly vigorous immune responses can also be expensive... I cannot imagine a chemical process to create those drugs that justifies the prices mentioned. Is the price at least subsidising the costs o…
[1] http://csdd.tufts.edu/news/complete_story/pr_tufts_csdd_2014...
as someone who lost a friend last year to skin cancer and has a work colleague with end-stage breast cancer that has spread to her bones - bring it on. as someone working in life sciences - years off, even with FDA fast track. the incentive to reap billions is justified, this is far more important than a fucking social sharing app - it better be more profitable. the best minds should work on a cure for cancer not bul…
And if that day comes, I certainly hope one of those replacement cures puts the greedy ones out of business.
On a darker note, I think your second comment speaks volumes about the kind of human being you are. I hope one day, years from now, you will take the time to come back to this comment and have the ability to reflect on just how sad your world view was at one point in your life.
On a lighter note, I agree that the best minds in the world should work on solving the hard / important problems of the world. With that said, machine learning / artificial intelligence (what alot of those "timewasters" are probably working on) will be what takes the human race to the next level. If you think "finding the cure for cancer" is next level, I am here to tell you we haven't seen anything yet. Machine learning / artificial intelligence is what's going to take us there.
Some context. One of the drugs in the combination Ipillimumab has been used for a while now, and seems to produce long term survival in about 10% of patients with incurable melanoma. Some of these patients seem effectively cured, having survived 7 years or more without any other treatment. It seems likely that combination therapy will produce a better rate of effective cure. This is a pretty big deal, because advance…
as someone who lost a friend last year to skin cancer and has a work colleague with end-stage breast cancer that has spread to her bones - bring it on. as someone working in life sciences - years off, even with FDA fast track. the incentive to reap billions is justified, this is far more important than a fucking social sharing app - it better be more profitable. the best minds should work on a cure for cancer not bul…
Yes. I don't see how this is 'overpriced' in comparison to tech exits
Some context. One of the drugs in the combination Ipillimumab has been used for a while now, and seems to produce long term survival in about 10% of patients with incurable melanoma. Some of these patients seem effectively cured, having survived 7 years or more without any other treatment. It seems likely that combination therapy will produce a better rate of effective cure. This is a pretty big deal, because advance…
> Cost effectiveness... well ipillimumab costs 100k a year for 4 doses, and nivolumab is probably going to cost another 100k at least on top of that, and is generally continued indefinitely, and the medication to turn off overly vigorous immune responses can also be expensive... I cannot imagine a chemical process to create those drugs that justifies the prices mentioned. Is the price at least subsidising the costs o…
It's a Monoclonal antibody, they are currently by far the most expensive drugs ever made.
They are very difficult to make, and almost impossible to make in bulk. It's not a chemical process, it's a biological one.
Unfortunately monoclonal antibodies are also some of the most promising drugs currently available. They can do things no other drug can.
It's really too bad they are so expensive to make.
as someone who lost a friend last year to skin cancer and has a work colleague with end-stage breast cancer that has spread to her bones - bring it on. as someone working in life sciences - years off, even with FDA fast track. the incentive to reap billions is justified, this is far more important than a fucking social sharing app - it better be more profitable. the best minds should work on a cure for cancer not bul…
My hunch is, the more greedy the patent holders are, the more likely, and the faster replacement cures will come to market. And if that day comes, I certainly hope one of those replacement cures puts the greedy ones out of business. On a darker note, I think your second comment speaks volumes about the kind of human being you are. I hope one day, years from now, you will take the time to come back to this comment and…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
ipilimumab, *-umab; hUman Monoclonal Ab (antibody) These aren't cheap to mass produce. Edit: Not the best source I could find, but this cites costs (not at scale) : http://www.immunochemistry.com/services/antibody-development
>These aren't cheap to mass produce. Even still, $25k/pill seems steep. That's roughly 10x the cost of pure plutonium.
These biomedical companies are in business to make shareholders rich--it's just about the money. Maybe medicine has always been just about the money?
The prices most drug comapnies charge for their latest drug seem outrageous? Want a jaw dropper--look into Biomarin drug prices. Read their prospectus--it reads more like a hedge fund, rather than bio company. Oh, and one of their buildings is sitting on the San Andreas Fault. Found that last sentance interesting--I guess lawyers were being proactive?
But then again, I'm for government funded research, I would like to outlaw forprofit Insurance, and I have become a huge skeptic of modern medicine.
(As a side note; If you noticed your generic drug is not dropping in price like it did years past, you are not loosing your mind. Supposedly, large drug companies(companies whose drug patents are expiring, or expired) are buying smaller generic drug companies, and either shutting down the operation, or keeping the generic price, of the newly aqquireed company, artificially priced high. I believe congress, or the FDA is looking into this slick business tactic? It's completely legal now.)
>after it's gone, after it's cured once and for all, this bane of human existence, this No. 2 Cause of Death, we will have extended human life a grand total of (drum roll, please) 3.3 years http://asserttrue.blogspot.com/2013/02/taeubers-paradox-and-...