4 ms·

In my anecdotal experience, the price of asthma inhalers (Albuterol) have gone up significantly, which sucks since they have a limited shelf-life & it's common

by rexf 11y ago

In my anecdotal experience, the price of asthma inhalers (Albuterol) have gone up significantly, which sucks since they have a limited shelf-life & it's common to have multiple (car, office, bedroom, etc). Like epipen-countered allergies, asthma is a life & death situation. From a quick web search, this site[1] shows: > To go from inhalers that cost 5 dollars to 60 dollars especially for those who don’t have prescription drug coverage has been awful. As a consumer, I can either forgo inhalers or use expired ones (instead of spending $$$ to keep them current). [1] http://www.dailystrength.org/health_blogs/dr-orrange/article/your-inhaler-expensive-green-at-price http://www.dailystrength.org/health_blogs/dr-orrange/article...

grecy 11y ago
Could you not buy them from another country? A quick trip across the border in either direction will save you a ton of money, and I'm sure you can mail order it too.
- eli 11y ago
  Not that it is frequently prosecuted in the US, but in many (most?) countries it is illegal to import pharmaceuticals without a license.
  - grecy 11y ago
    asthma inhalers are considered a pharmaceutical?
- ekianjo 11y ago
  > mail order This carries the risk of fakes, though. I mean fakes are everywhere in the first place, but through mail order the risk significantly increases.
  - grecy 11y ago
    I think the chances are very low when buying from a developed country.
fpgeek 11y ago
From what I recall, there was a big price increase for asthma inhalers when they switched from CFCs to other propellants. That being said, I thought the new propellants were going to go generic after a few years. Has that not happened yet? Or did people / insurance companies adapt to the higher prices so that the new generics can charge more than the old ones?
- semi-extrinsic 11y ago
  I always used non-propellant inhalers when I was a kid (in Europe). I believe they are called Diskus-type. Why do you need propellants?
  - jrockway 11y ago
    I don't think albuterol is available in that form. Here's a study where a company that makes generics is testing that, I think: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01857323 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01857323. It's from 2013. The drugs in Diskus form are typically steroids. Steroids are to prevent attacks, albuterol is to stop attacks that have already started.
    - semi-extrinsic 11y ago
      No, I had both albuterol (ventolin) and steroids (flutide) in diskus form. Edit: link to picture: http://bloggfiler.no/tcmn.blogg.no/images/441858-8-1265834547754.jpg http://bloggfiler.no/tcmn.blogg.no/images/441858-8-126583454...
JeremyNT 11y ago
The sorry state of asthma medication is a tragedy that could have completely been avoided. For a long time, asthma medication was not under patent protection. The FDA, however, outlawed all generic asthma medication because it contained CFCs [0] in the late 00's, and the replacement delivery system was newly eligible for patent protection simply due to using a different propellant. [1] This wasn't some amazing new advancement in the drug formula, they just changed how it got into your lungs - ostensibly due to environmental concerns. This case is a damning indictment of patent law and in how we handle externalities generally. The environmental cost of CFCs was an externality that no drug manufacturer ever had to pay. What's the solution to that problem? Of course it's not to tax or fine manufacturers who continuing to pollute, no: it's to reward some pharma companies with a fresh monopoly for altering the medication such that it doesn't deplete the ozone layer. Congratulations on the amazing new drug you developed! You're now doing the bare minimum that should be required to be a citizen of the planet by not actively destroying it with pollutants! Here's your reward, a monopoly, with which you can extract money from the (mostly poor) asthma sufferers who no longer have affordable medication. I don't understand why this wasn't a bigger story. [0] http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/ucm080446.htm http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/u... [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/us/the-soaring-cost-of-a-simple-breath.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131013&_r=1 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/us/the-soaring-cost-of-a-s...

by rexf 11y ago

grecy 11y ago

Could you not buy them from another country? A quick trip across the border in either direction will save you a ton of money, and I'm sure you can mail order it too.

eli 11y ago
Not that it is frequently prosecuted in the US, but in many (most?) countries it is illegal to import pharmaceuticals without a license.
- grecy 11y ago
  asthma inhalers are considered a pharmaceutical?
ekianjo 11y ago
> mail order This carries the risk of fakes, though. I mean fakes are everywhere in the first place, but through mail order the risk significantly increases.
- grecy 11y ago
  I think the chances are very low when buying from a developed country.

fpgeek 11y ago

From what I recall, there was a big price increase for asthma inhalers when they switched from CFCs to other propellants. That being said, I thought the new propellants were going to go generic after a few years. Has that not happened yet? Or did people / insurance companies adapt to the higher prices so that the new generics can charge more than the old ones?

semi-extrinsic 11y ago
I always used non-propellant inhalers when I was a kid (in Europe). I believe they are called Diskus-type. Why do you need propellants?
- jrockway 11y ago
  I don't think albuterol is available in that form. Here's a study where a company that makes generics is testing that, I think: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01857323 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01857323. It's from 2013. The drugs in Diskus form are typically steroids. Steroids are to prevent attacks, albuterol is to stop attacks that have already started.
  - semi-extrinsic 11y ago
    No, I had both albuterol (ventolin) and steroids (flutide) in diskus form. Edit: link to picture: http://bloggfiler.no/tcmn.blogg.no/images/441858-8-1265834547754.jpg http://bloggfiler.no/tcmn.blogg.no/images/441858-8-126583454...

JeremyNT 11y ago

The sorry state of asthma medication is a tragedy that could have completely been avoided. For a long time, asthma medication was not under patent protection. The FDA, however, outlawed all generic asthma medication because it contained CFCs [0] in the late 00's, and the replacement delivery system was newly eligible for patent protection simply due to using a different propellant. [1] This wasn't some amazing new advancement in the drug formula, they just changed how it got into your lungs - ostensibly due to environmental concerns. This case is a damning indictment of patent law and in how we handle externalities generally. The environmental cost of CFCs was an externality that no drug manufacturer ever had to pay. What's the solution to that problem? Of course it's not to tax or fine manufacturers who continuing to pollute, no: it's to reward some pharma companies with a fresh monopoly for altering the medication such that it doesn't deplete the ozone layer. Congratulations on the amazing new drug you developed! You're now doing the bare minimum that should be required to be a citizen of the planet by not actively destroying it with pollutants! Here's your reward, a monopoly, with which you can extract money from the (mostly poor) asthma sufferers who no longer have affordable medication. I don't understand why this wasn't a bigger story. [0] http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/ucm080446.htm http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/u... [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/us/the-soaring-cost-of-a-simple-breath.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131013&_r=1 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/us/the-soaring-cost-of-a-s...