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Seems like a reasonable punishment for such criminal negligence for a corporation would be revocation of the patents protecting their monopoly. A corporation d

Seems like a reasonable punishment for such criminal negligence for a corporation would be revocation of the patents protecting their monopoly. A corporation does not deserve a government-sanctioned monopoly if it is negligent in how it uses that monopoly power.

seanp2k2 9y ago
I would love it if that ever happened to any company. Sadly,
speedplane 9y ago
What I don't understand about this situation, is that the EpiPen is not covered by patents. It's been off patent for a long time. Why aren't other companies stepping in and making a competing product? If it's off patent and they can make the same product for cheaper, then the branded EpiPen sales will decline which will force them to lower their price. There is definitely a market failure here, but it's not clear why.
- lrem 9y ago
  Patent is only the first part of inertia to overcome here. You need insurance companies to agree to refund your alternative. You need to get doctors to prescribe it. You need to get pharmacies to stock it. You need to get patients to want them. Only one of these groups has any incentive to help you. This is why some countries have enacted laws to help with that.
  - jsymolon 9y ago
    And, laws that don't force the use of brand name drugs. https://www.statnews.com/2016/08/25/mylan-antitrust-epipen-schools/ https://www.statnews.com/2016/08/25/mylan-antitrust-epipen-s...
- emiliobumachar 9y ago
  http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/08/29/reverse-voxsplaining-drugs-vs-chairs/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/08/29/reverse-voxsplaining-dr... "They keep trying, and the FDA keeps refusing to approve them for human use."
- dboreham 9y ago
  http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/01/492235796/fda-fees-on-industry-havent-fixed-delays-in-generic-drug-approvals http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/01/49223579...
- maxerickson 9y ago
  The specific mechanism Mylan markets is covered by a patent. Some adjustment to the way the needle cap operates. Of course that patent doesn't prevent other epinephrine autoinjectors from coming to market (and Adrenaclick is available in the US, including a couple generics). My take is that the FDA should have some authority to deny market approval for such small improvements if the company refuses to license them to generic manufacturers. The hard part is deciding what constitutes a small improvement.
- mkempe 9y ago
  Not the market. The FDA. If people start to pay attention to the process and the corruption surrounding EpiPen, will it blow the lid off the entire FDA system?
Aaargh20318 9y ago
> Seems like a reasonable punishment for such criminal negligence for a corporation would be ... But corporations don't make decisions, those are made by the actual human beings that work for those corporations. Those human beings belong in prison.

seanp2k2 9y ago

I would love it if that ever happened to any company. Sadly,

speedplane 9y ago

What I don't understand about this situation, is that the EpiPen is not covered by patents. It's been off patent for a long time. Why aren't other companies stepping in and making a competing product? If it's off patent and they can make the same product for cheaper, then the branded EpiPen sales will decline which will force them to lower their price. There is definitely a market failure here, but it's not clear why.

lrem 9y ago
Patent is only the first part of inertia to overcome here. You need insurance companies to agree to refund your alternative. You need to get doctors to prescribe it. You need to get pharmacies to stock it. You need to get patients to want them. Only one of these groups has any incentive to help you. This is why some countries have enacted laws to help with that.
- jsymolon 9y ago
  And, laws that don't force the use of brand name drugs. https://www.statnews.com/2016/08/25/mylan-antitrust-epipen-schools/ https://www.statnews.com/2016/08/25/mylan-antitrust-epipen-s...
emiliobumachar 9y ago
http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/08/29/reverse-voxsplaining-drugs-vs-chairs/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/08/29/reverse-voxsplaining-dr... "They keep trying, and the FDA keeps refusing to approve them for human use."
dboreham 9y ago
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/01/492235796/fda-fees-on-industry-havent-fixed-delays-in-generic-drug-approvals http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/01/49223579...
maxerickson 9y ago
The specific mechanism Mylan markets is covered by a patent. Some adjustment to the way the needle cap operates. Of course that patent doesn't prevent other epinephrine autoinjectors from coming to market (and Adrenaclick is available in the US, including a couple generics). My take is that the FDA should have some authority to deny market approval for such small improvements if the company refuses to license them to generic manufacturers. The hard part is deciding what constitutes a small improvement.
mkempe 9y ago
Not the market. The FDA. If people start to pay attention to the process and the corruption surrounding EpiPen, will it blow the lid off the entire FDA system?

Aaargh20318 9y ago

> Seems like a reasonable punishment for such criminal negligence for a corporation would be ... But corporations don't make decisions, those are made by the actual human beings that work for those corporations. Those human beings belong in prison.