4 ms·

I'd be willing to bet that any open source alternative approach to insulin manufacturing that gets any traction would have drug companies quickly lobbying gover

I'd be willing to bet that any open source alternative approach to insulin manufacturing that gets any traction would have drug companies quickly lobbying governments to license insulin production, or they'd launch ads campaigns about the dangers of "socialist insulin", or something. They'll do their best to kill off the competition no matter what. Insulin is cheap to manufacture. Around the world in countries that have regulated drug pricing it's also cheap to buy. The best (as in proven-to-work) way to reduce the price in places where it's expensive is to stop drug companies charging whatever they want.

tnecio 5y ago
One thing I don't understand is, what is preventing anyone from just starting a new factory or importing insulin from abroad to sell it cheaper than the competitors?
- sverhagen 5y ago
  Rules and regulations? It's not a food supplement, insuline is injected, I imagine governments having opinions?
- Shaddox 5y ago
  It has been tried before. What happened is that the established players will start giving it away for free until you are out of business.
- pineaux 5y ago
  Because it's illegal. America has protectionist policies for their big pharma.
- shadilay 5y ago
  Regulatory capture.
- GravitasFailure 5y ago
  One of the huge problems with making generic drugs is that you need to demonstrate that your drug does the same thing as the real deal, which isn't as expensive as phase I, II, and III trials for bringing a completely new product to market, but it isn't cheap, fast, or easy. Likewise, setting up proper facilities to manufacture your product isn't cheap, either. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/generic-drug-approval-process https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/generic-dr...
mrweasel 5y ago
Walmart sells an older Novo Nordisk insulin rather cheaply. The question is: Is it cheap enough? It's still $75 per vial and depending on how poor you are that might still be to expensive. The cheap insulin is also harder to regulate for the user. If you're poor, you might also have other issues which prevents you from correctly medicating yourself. I don't really see that an Open Source insulin would help anyone who can't already afford the cheapest commercial version.

tnecio 5y ago

One thing I don't understand is, what is preventing anyone from just starting a new factory or importing insulin from abroad to sell it cheaper than the competitors?

sverhagen 5y ago
Rules and regulations? It's not a food supplement, insuline is injected, I imagine governments having opinions?
Shaddox 5y ago
It has been tried before. What happened is that the established players will start giving it away for free until you are out of business.
pineaux 5y ago
Because it's illegal. America has protectionist policies for their big pharma.
shadilay 5y ago
Regulatory capture.
GravitasFailure 5y ago
One of the huge problems with making generic drugs is that you need to demonstrate that your drug does the same thing as the real deal, which isn't as expensive as phase I, II, and III trials for bringing a completely new product to market, but it isn't cheap, fast, or easy. Likewise, setting up proper facilities to manufacture your product isn't cheap, either. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/generic-drug-approval-process https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/generic-dr...

mrweasel 5y ago

Walmart sells an older Novo Nordisk insulin rather cheaply. The question is: Is it cheap enough? It's still $75 per vial and depending on how poor you are that might still be to expensive. The cheap insulin is also harder to regulate for the user. If you're poor, you might also have other issues which prevents you from correctly medicating yourself. I don't really see that an Open Source insulin would help anyone who can't already afford the cheapest commercial version.