3 ms·

Shkreli's company didn't "design" squat, it bought existing drugs where the patent period had already expired and the R&D costs were paid off. Also, funnily en

Shkreli's company didn't "design" squat, it bought existing drugs where the patent period had already expired and the R&D costs were paid off. Also, funnily enough, in an actual capitalist environment you couldn't do this, because a competitor would immediately undercut you. However, the drugs market is heavily regulated, and Skhreli exploited the fact that it would take years and cost a lot of money for any putative competitor to get a generic version through FDA approvals.

1000units 6y ago
You're talking about this one drug in question, Daraprim. He actively funded the development of several new drugs you've never heard of, and sending Shkreli to prison was literally a crime against humanity. I don't think you know anything about Shkreli you haven't read in neatly packaged hit pieces.
- howlgarnish 6y ago
  He pulled the same trick with Thiona, Chenodal, Vecamyl and probably more -- it was on the record as his own company Turing's strategy after all. As noted, this was all legal and I agree that he was railroaded to jail for essentially completely unrelated wrongdoings, but there's no universe where he's not a scumbag.
  - 1000units 6y ago
    This is a very odd characterization! Looking at Turing's 2014 10-K, I see this as a listed strategy: Focus on developing products to treat rare diseases characterized by severe unmet medical needs. I also see several preclinical programs and product candidates. You must have missed those. Odd case, very strange.
dnautics 6y ago
> it would take years and cost a lot of money for any putative competitor to get a generic version through FDA approvals It's more than that, the FDA grants advertising exclusivity, which is de jure weaker than patents (the patent office and the law regulates patent criteria, the FDA cannot) but is de facto just as effective, and is an IP lock on the product. (I would also call this "not really free market capitalism")

1000units 6y ago

You're talking about this one drug in question, Daraprim. He actively funded the development of several new drugs you've never heard of, and sending Shkreli to prison was literally a crime against humanity. I don't think you know anything about Shkreli you haven't read in neatly packaged hit pieces.

howlgarnish 6y ago
He pulled the same trick with Thiona, Chenodal, Vecamyl and probably more -- it was on the record as his own company Turing's strategy after all. As noted, this was all legal and I agree that he was railroaded to jail for essentially completely unrelated wrongdoings, but there's no universe where he's not a scumbag.
- 1000units 6y ago
  This is a very odd characterization! Looking at Turing's 2014 10-K, I see this as a listed strategy: Focus on developing products to treat rare diseases characterized by severe unmet medical needs. I also see several preclinical programs and product candidates. You must have missed those. Odd case, very strange.

dnautics 6y ago

> it would take years and cost a lot of money for any putative competitor to get a generic version through FDA approvals It's more than that, the FDA grants advertising exclusivity, which is de jure weaker than patents (the patent office and the law regulates patent criteria, the FDA cannot) but is de facto just as effective, and is an IP lock on the product. (I would also call this "not really free market capitalism")