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Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

science.org

81–90 of 245 posts

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#81
post #46
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Flights to Canada can be pretty cheap too. Less than the cost of one month so if you flew out every 90 days you’d still come out ahead. Practically not enough people will do this of course. Would be great for people in the border towns though.

I don't know about that, Canada is a beautiful country. If I were on the meds, I wouldn't hesitate to fly out for a day trip every 90 days. Also, let's be real, anyone in the northeast could be there in a few hours driving. New York City is about 7 hours away from Ottawa, for example.

Detroit and Windsor are a single bridge crossing away from each other. Sarnia and Port Huron too.

I’ve ended up at the border crossing from Niagara Falls to Buffalo by accident before. I was glad when they let me make a U-turn.

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#83
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always wonder-in this case of such an epic company fuck up, does anyone ever get fired? Or is responsibility so diffuse that nobody is ultimately responsible? Pharma companies are really nothing more than holders of time-limited, expensive, exclusive IP. The number one priority should be to maintain those protections as long as possible. How could any patent be allowed to lapse, even if there was limited commercial…

Typically when people get fired for something like this they are just the scapegoat. A failure like this isn't just one dude forgetting, its a system failure where policies and checks failed. If it is solely up to one person that is a failure in and of itself.

> If it is solely up to one person that is a failure in and of itself.

I would agree. The so-called bus factor has been common knowledge in the industries in question for literal decades now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor

> An early instance of this sort of query was when Michael McLay publicly asked, in 1994, what would happen to the Python language if Guido van Rossum were to be hit by a bus.

http://legacy.python.org/search/hypermail/python-1994q2/1040...

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#84
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With de minimis for US-bound packages suspended I suspect way more packages are inspected than used to be.

> With de minimis for US-bound packages suspended I suspect way more packages are inspected than used to be But a smaller fraction. If you’re paranoid, route it via the UAE. All my European and Indian shippers are doing that for tariff-free pricing. (Personal stuff. I’ll pay a customs duty if I get it, of course.)

You can import from UAE without paying any duties or fees?

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#85
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Typically when people get fired for something like this they are just the scapegoat. A failure like this isn't just one dude forgetting, its a system failure where policies and checks failed. If it is solely up to one person that is a failure in and of itself.

> If it is solely up to one person that is a failure in and of itself. I would agree. The so-called bus factor has been common knowledge in the industries in question for literal decades now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor > An early instance of this sort of query was when Michael McLay publicly asked, in 1994, what would happen to the Python language if Guido van Rossum were to be hit by a bus. http://lega…

The process for the patent to lapse in Canada is quite long, and you get warning letters once deadlines are close.

There is also a possibility of a paying a late fee and, finally, there is also a reinstatement process.

NN could have missed all these, but they would have to be a really dysfunctional organization. Definitely not a low bus-factor situation.

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#86
post #67
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Typically when people get fired for something like this they are just the scapegoat. A failure like this isn't just one dude forgetting, its a system failure where policies and checks failed. If it is solely up to one person that is a failure in and of itself.

Some people, including legal experts, claim it could have been intentional: https://www.legal.io/articles/5691258/Novo-Nordisk-Lets-Cana... . I was surprised Science didn't discuss this option. However, reader comments in Science do comment on this possibility. The idea is that letting the patent lapse would avoid getting regulated by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. I know several people working at NN, and…

[deleted]

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the shelf life is probably longer than that if you buy it in dehydrated form and don't hydrate it (but i have no idea)

So cocaine from the south, ozempic from the north, fetanyl from the west and the meth is homegrown. So USA just need some powder from europe to close the circle.

That would be MDMA.

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> With de minimis for US-bound packages suspended I suspect way more packages are inspected than used to be But a smaller fraction. If you’re paranoid, route it via the UAE. All my European and Indian shippers are doing that for tariff-free pricing. (Personal stuff. I’ll pay a customs duty if I get it, of course.)

You can import from UAE without paying any duties or fees?

[deleted]

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#89
post #4

> Prof. Michael Hoffman from Toronto put me on to the Canadian Patent Database, where you can find that Novo did file a patent there for semaglutide. . .but the last time they paid the annual maintenance fee on it was 2018! > You can even find a letter where their lawyers send a refund request for the 2017 maintenance fee ($250) because Novo apparently wanted some more time to see if they wanted to pay it. > On the s…

I always wonder-in this case of such an epic company fuck up, does anyone ever get fired? Or is responsibility so diffuse that nobody is ultimately responsible? Pharma companies are really nothing more than holders of time-limited, expensive, exclusive IP. The number one priority should be to maintain those protections as long as possible. How could any patent be allowed to lapse, even if there was limited commercial…

Is this the patent equivalent of letting your website's cert expire?

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#90
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I'm all for saving costs, I would be shocked if mixing your own inject-able medicine either weekly (with the chance of making a mistake in dosage or sterility) or too such a high degree of sterility that you can confidentally store several doses is not worth the $200 return flight every two years. Maybe I'm overestimating the risks but it still seems like a small saving for it. Realistically the cost of semiglu…

Its remarkably straightforward. Not fool-proof, but easy. Bacteriostatic water, single use needles/syringes, and self healing injection port vials makes it simple to maintain sterility throughout the process. Multiple doses can be mixed and stored in the fridge for 4-6 weeks.

While I agree and this all seems reasonable, I think you give the average person far too much credit.
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