3 ms·

But demand is inelastic and I think there is a patent monopoly.

by yuhong 10y ago

rayiner 10y ago
What does demand being inelastic have to do with anything? And the drug isn't patented.
- yuhong 10y ago
  If demand is elastic, higher prices would result in lower sales.
- sndean 10y ago
  The 0.3 mg of epinephrine injected by the pen probably isn't patented, but I believe that the pen is.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    Various improvements to the pen have been patented over the years, the initial patent was granted in 1977 and is expired. The question becomes, how small an improvement should we look at and decide that it warrants exclusivity? It's a trickier question for something like the Epipen where there is benefit from widespread understanding of how to properly use it (so a change to the pen that requires different user training becomes a change that removes generics from the market).
- ubernostrum 10y ago
  And the drug isn't patented. I've seen multiple people try to figure out why there is no competition, and some consensus around the fact that while the drug is not patented, the particular delivery device design (or combination of it and the drug) is patented, and due to issues of needing to train people on multiple different delivery devices, there's no room to break into the market with an equivalent that evades the patent concern.
  - grandalf 10y ago
    While remotely plausible, this sounds farfetched to me, considering that there would be virtually no R&D budget to deal with, and unlike chemical pharmaceuticals it is easy to test the full life cycle of the device in seconds, thousands of times in a row. Epinephrine is in the public domain, and there is no chance that flaws in the delivery device would take years to discover. So in comparison to most of what Big Pharma spends money trying to bring to market, an epi pen is (in comparison) extremely easy. My guess is that even if a patent were successfully filed for a new delivery device, the challenge lies in getting all the sweetheart deals that Mylan was able to get.

But demand is inelastic and I think there is a patent monopoly.

by yuhong 10y ago

But demand is inelastic and I think there is a patent monopoly.

rayiner 10y ago

What does demand being inelastic have to do with anything? And the drug isn't patented.

yuhong 10y ago
If demand is elastic, higher prices would result in lower sales.
sndean 10y ago
The 0.3 mg of epinephrine injected by the pen probably isn't patented, but I believe that the pen is.
- maxerickson 10y ago
  Various improvements to the pen have been patented over the years, the initial patent was granted in 1977 and is expired. The question becomes, how small an improvement should we look at and decide that it warrants exclusivity? It's a trickier question for something like the Epipen where there is benefit from widespread understanding of how to properly use it (so a change to the pen that requires different user training becomes a change that removes generics from the market).
ubernostrum 10y ago
And the drug isn't patented. I've seen multiple people try to figure out why there is no competition, and some consensus around the fact that while the drug is not patented, the particular delivery device design (or combination of it and the drug) is patented, and due to issues of needing to train people on multiple different delivery devices, there's no room to break into the market with an equivalent that evades the patent concern.
- grandalf 10y ago
  While remotely plausible, this sounds farfetched to me, considering that there would be virtually no R&D budget to deal with, and unlike chemical pharmaceuticals it is easy to test the full life cycle of the device in seconds, thousands of times in a row. Epinephrine is in the public domain, and there is no chance that flaws in the delivery device would take years to discover. So in comparison to most of what Big Pharma spends money trying to bring to market, an epi pen is (in comparison) extremely easy. My guess is that even if a patent were successfully filed for a new delivery device, the challenge lies in getting all the sweetheart deals that Mylan was able to get.