An anrchist takes on big pharma

[jediwill83]

https://www.statnews.com/2017/10/12/...r-drug-prices/

Interesting article......pretty gutsy and admirable. He says he can make the drug to cure Hep C for $800 vs the $84,000 the pharmaceutical industry charges for it.

[Aquila]

Gutsy indeed. lol

[aegsm76]

Having spent most of my career in Healthcare, I can say that he is out of his mind.
It is foolish for anyone to attempt to make drugs at home.
We have enough issues with home grown beer and wine poisonings.
Not to mention meth and other agents.
The price issues with drugs are from various sources.
It is not a simple issue.
Prices are set based on research costs, public valuation and purchase of stock or private companies, alternative drug costs, etc...
Companies have a limited time to recoup their investments, before the drug goes generic.
Once a drug is discovered and approved, the cost of producing it are usually minimal.
Those who believe that it should be "free" or cost less, would soon find themselves without new drugs, if the prices were forced to come down.
And I am not even going into how the government and insurance companies totally mask the actual cost of drugs.

[Aquila]

If people are willing to accept the risks because they can't afford much needed medication, shouldn't that be their personal choice?

[Evang.Benincasa]

Originally Posted by aegsm76

Having spent most of my career in Healthcare, I can say that he is out of his mind.
It is foolish for anyone to attempt to make drugs at home.
We have enough issues with home grown beer and wine poisonings.
Not to mention meth and other agents.
The price issues with drugs are from various sources.
It is not a simple issue.
Prices are set based on research costs, public valuation and purchase of stock or private companies, alternative drug costs, etc...
Companies have a limited time to recoup their investments, before the drug goes generic.
Once a drug is discovered and approved, the cost of producing it are usually minimal.
Those who believe that it should be "free" or cost less, would soon find themselves without new drugs, if the prices were forced to come down.
And I am not even going into how the government and insurance companies totally mask the actual cost of drugs.

[Aquila]

I don't think the goal is to have the medication for free. The goal is to reduce the cost of medication. The example given illustrates how a given medication might cost $84 thousand dollars to purchase from pharmaceutical companies. However, it might only cost $800.00 to make. So, essentially a private citizen could make the medication for only $800.00's and perhaps sell it for only $1,000.00's (only a $200 profit). Saves the sick person needing the medication, $83 thousand dollars.

[Amanah]

Ex-DEA agent: Opioid crisis fueled by drug industry and Congress

In the midst of the worst drug epidemic in American history, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's ability to keep addictive opioids off U.S. streets was derailed -- that according to Joe Rannazzisi, one of the most important whistleblowers ever interviewed by 60 Minutes. Rannazzisi ran the DEA's Office of Diversion Control, the division that regulates and investigates the pharmaceutical industry. Now in a joint investigation by 60 Minutes and The Washington Post, Rannazzisi tells the inside story of how, he says, the opioid crisis was allowed to spread -- aided by Congress, lobbyists, and a drug distribution industry that shipped, almost unchecked, hundreds of millions of pills to rogue pharmacies and pain clinics providing the rocket fuel for a crisis that, over the last two decades, has claimed 200,000 lives.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-dea-...-and-congress/

[TakingDominion]

Originally Posted by Amanah

Ex-DEA agent: Opioid crisis fueled by drug industry and Congress

In the midst of the worst drug epidemic in American history, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's ability to keep addictive opioids off U.S. streets was derailed -- that according to Joe Rannazzisi, one of the most important whistleblowers ever interviewed by 60 Minutes. Rannazzisi ran the DEA's Office of Diversion Control, the division that regulates and investigates the pharmaceutical industry. Now in a joint investigation by 60 Minutes and The Washington Post, Rannazzisi tells the inside story of how, he says, the opioid crisis was allowed to spread -- aided by Congress, lobbyists, and a drug distribution industry that shipped, almost unchecked, hundreds of millions of pills to rogue pharmacies and pain clinics providing the rocket fuel for a crisis that, over the last two decades, has claimed 200,000 lives.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-dea-...-and-congress/

America has a drug problem...and it's not an ILLEGAL drug problem. We've got too many people on anti-depressants and other mood-altering drugs. We need a spiritual revival like never before. I pray it starts with me in my city.

[aegsm76]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I don't think the goal is to have the medication for free. The goal is to reduce the cost of medication. The example given illustrates how a given medication might cost $84 thousand dollars to purchase from pharmaceutical companies. However, it might only cost $800.00 to make. So, essentially a private citizen could make the medication for only $800.00's and perhaps sell it for only $1,000.00's (only a $200 profit). Saves the sick person needing the medication, $83 thousand dollars.

You realize that it would be almost impossible for a private citizen to do this?
Even a trained scientist would be hard pressed to put together a private lab in his home and do this.
Also, you realize that this is basically theft, right?
The companies that discovered/invented these drugs spent major dollars to do so.
Now, you want to take the end result of their labor and use it.
It is the same thing as software theft.

[aegsm76]

Originally Posted by TakingDominion

America has a drug problem...and it's not an ILLEGAL drug problem. We've got too many people on anti-depressants and other mood-altering drugs. We need a spiritual revival like never before. I pray it starts with me in my city.

Agreed!
Most of these people on these drugs would be better served going to the gym or doing charity work with people who have it much worse than they do.
Not to take away from some who really do need these drugs.
But which I believe is maybe ten percent of all that are on them.
And maybe one percent.