3 ms·

A couple of points: Referring to an industry as "them" is not constructive. Comcast has a horrible reputation for internet service, does that mean we are all a

A couple of points: Referring to an industry as "them" is not constructive. Comcast has a horrible reputation for internet service, does that mean we are all a part of "big tech" out to screw the little guy? Pharma companies will develop drugs that they think they can sell. If it were possible to create a stimulant variant profitably, companies would do so like any other rational actor. The epipen story is sad, I agree, and it would be nice if it were easier to get a generic onto the market. The money for more drug research has to come from somewhere, though, so more profitability for the industry will have a positive long term affect even if the short term is highly unfortunate for the patients.

pyre 10y ago
> The money for more drug research has to come from somewhere, though The EpiPen has been on the market for awhile. Why the sudden price hike? Were they operating at a loss before? This does not seem like a case of "we have to recover our costs" and comes across more of a case of "we are a monopoly so fuck you, give us your money."
- chris_va 10y ago
  Yes, but that is capitalism. These companies primarily get created because investors want to see a return, the side effect is that they produce novel drugs. So, no, they probably don't need to raise prices. Because they now have a temporary monopoly they are finding the monopoly price point as you say. Having said that, try coming up with a better system to produce drugs.
  - pyre 10y ago
    That is not capitalism. The existence of the FDA ensures that it is not a free market. Trying to label it as such is disingenuous. The EpiPen product is basically a plastic housing around a syringe to make it easily injectable. There is no high sky-high R&D cost here.
    - chris_va 10y ago
      Well that was impassioned :). An unregulated free market is not the same thing as capitalism. There is nothing preventing you or anyone from developing a generic epipen, especially since it is just a plastic housing around a syringe. It just takes time and money. Also, R&D costs are already paid for. If they are using money for R& D it will be for something else. Profitability in the pharma industry is generally low, there are lots of failed drugs that have to be paid for by something. Arguing that companies have a moral responsibility to price products low is unfortunately not true.

pyre 10y ago

> The money for more drug research has to come from somewhere, though The EpiPen has been on the market for awhile. Why the sudden price hike? Were they operating at a loss before? This does not seem like a case of "we have to recover our costs" and comes across more of a case of "we are a monopoly so fuck you, give us your money."

chris_va 10y ago
Yes, but that is capitalism. These companies primarily get created because investors want to see a return, the side effect is that they produce novel drugs. So, no, they probably don't need to raise prices. Because they now have a temporary monopoly they are finding the monopoly price point as you say. Having said that, try coming up with a better system to produce drugs.
- pyre 10y ago
  That is not capitalism. The existence of the FDA ensures that it is not a free market. Trying to label it as such is disingenuous. The EpiPen product is basically a plastic housing around a syringe to make it easily injectable. There is no high sky-high R&D cost here.
  - chris_va 10y ago
    Well that was impassioned :). An unregulated free market is not the same thing as capitalism. There is nothing preventing you or anyone from developing a generic epipen, especially since it is just a plastic housing around a syringe. It just takes time and money. Also, R&D costs are already paid for. If they are using money for R& D it will be for something else. Profitability in the pharma industry is generally low, there are lots of failed drugs that have to be paid for by something. Arguing that companies have a moral responsibility to price products low is unfortunately not true.