3 ms·
Not going to lie, I really hate all the recent coverage on Metformin becoming a “miracle pill” - as I’ve been on Metformin for almost 10 years now without issue
by testfrequency 2y ago
Not going to lie, I really hate all the recent coverage on Metformin becoming a “miracle pill” - as I’ve been on Metformin for almost 10 years now without issue.
I really hope my prescription costs and access to Metformin is not ruined by everyone’s quest to out live their children
- 7e 2y agoMetformin is off patent and is easy to make. You will have no problems.
- fzingle 2y agoSo is insulin. But at least in the US, it is expensive.
- adrianN 2y agoIt is my understanding that the expensive insulin is actually more complicated than the insulin that we had a couple of decades ago and that makes it easier to dose correctly so that therapeutic outcomes are improved.
- munk-a 2y agoThat was due to cartel behavior (and now should be limited by the recent drug capping initiative) - elsewhere in the world insulin is extremely affordable. Insulin is an interesting case because the insulin you get today is manufactured in a different process than the original batches which has let manufacturers skirt around both generic alternatives and the original patent.
- kurthr 2y agoWell, not so much anymore. It's capped at $35/mo if you're on Medicare or ACA and most other sources. https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lilly-cuts-insulin-prices-70-and-caps-patient-insulin-out-pocket https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-detail... I'd also mention that most of the insulin these days is not extracted from animals as it once was. One can make arguments for/against this, but for safety reasons almost all of it is now made with biopharmaceutical (bacterial recombinant) processes.
- epasveer 2y agoI believe it's expensive for the delivery system, not the insulin itself. (Could be wrong).
- klooney 2y agoOff patent it's cheap, but the on patent stuff is way better, so it's what everyone wants
- zamadatix 2y agoI'm on Metformin and not worried about it given the likely reason you ended up on Metformin 10 years ago is it was already generic and cheap to make, especially compared to many of the alternatives. Where you get screwed is needing a pill that's under heavy patents or still complicated/expensive to make even when it isn't.
- renewiltord 2y agoArtificial scarcity of these drugs is an intentional choice.
- __MatrixMan__ 2y agoWe need more garage chemists so that it can be a less consequential one.
- renewiltord 2y agoCompounding pharmacies get around this. My friend runs a very profitable online pharmacy backed by them (which he also owns).
- DeonPenny 2y agoMore people taking medication lower price not increases it.
- bityard 2y agoThat is true in a lot of areas. Unfortunately, that's not how the pharma industry works. If a medication is patented, the company who owns it sets the price (or licensing price) according to demand. As an example, there was a scandal or two in the past few years where private equity firms were buying pharma companies and jacking up the price of medications to the point where the users of those medications got to choose between bankruptcy and living. (Disclaimer 1: I don't know if metformin is patented.) (Disclaimer 2: This is not an anti-capitlaist rant. Capitalism works fine with adequate governmental regulation. However, practically nothing about the US healthcare system is adequately regulated.)
- shiroiushi 2y agoMetformin was invented in the 1920s, and achieved widespread usage in the 1950s. It's far beyond any patent terms.