5 ms·

That may be true when we’re talking about investing in new drugs, but a whole lot of the pharmaceutical industry engages in rent-seeking behavior, and people ar

That may be true when we’re talking about investing in new drugs, but a whole lot of the pharmaceutical industry engages in rent-seeking behavior, and people are often not deep thinkers so their natural inclination is to just throw the baby out with the bath water.

s1artibartfast 2y ago
The rent seeking is pretty negligible when you zoom out in time. It is extremely hard to find a specific medication that is still on patent 20 years after approval. I think people are generally confused by things like insulin, where there are newer and better versions coming out continually, despite it being invented in the 1920s.
- justin_oaks 2y ago
  So how does a diabetic get one of the older, worse insulins that they can afford? Certainly that's preferable to the better insulin that they can't afford.
  - s1artibartfast 2y ago
    You buy it at Walmart. At Walmart it is $25 for 1,000 Units of Novolin N [1], with no insurance or prescription. 1000 units is about a month for a lot of people. Novolin N is a third or 4th generation Insulin approved in 1950. You can get 1000 units of Humalog (Approved in 1996) for $43 at walgreens or most pharmacies (or 19.99 with a Walgreens coupon) [2] The more recently approved version of Insulin Afrezza, (approved in 2014) costs about $2,000 for a monthly supply.[3] There has been a fairly consistent march of insulin improvements since the first versions were sold in 1926. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_(medication)#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_(medication)#History https://www.walmart.com/cp/relion-insulin/8418641?action=SignIn&rm=true https://www.walmart.com/cp/relion-insulin/8418641?action=Sig... https://www.goodrx.com/insulin-lispro https://www.goodrx.com/insulin-lispro https://pharmacy.amazon.com/afrezza-180-Cartridge-Pack-Insulin/dp/B08H5GW3CX?ref_=sr_1_1&s=amazon-pharmacy&keywords=Afrezza&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.G1eJumdZLiJz_YGO5jPyhF0PyCm0BzXfcbNsE-UaOlvGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.WJ-6paJ7UTx2L75OiQoI-z-2DCSoqhyQpItq30gpXX8&qid=1728175255&sr=1-1 https://pharmacy.amazon.com/afrezza-180-Cartridge-Pack-Insul...

s1artibartfast 2y ago

The rent seeking is pretty negligible when you zoom out in time. It is extremely hard to find a specific medication that is still on patent 20 years after approval. I think people are generally confused by things like insulin, where there are newer and better versions coming out continually, despite it being invented in the 1920s.

justin_oaks 2y ago
So how does a diabetic get one of the older, worse insulins that they can afford? Certainly that's preferable to the better insulin that they can't afford.
- s1artibartfast 2y ago
  You buy it at Walmart. At Walmart it is $25 for 1,000 Units of Novolin N [1], with no insurance or prescription. 1000 units is about a month for a lot of people. Novolin N is a third or 4th generation Insulin approved in 1950. You can get 1000 units of Humalog (Approved in 1996) for $43 at walgreens or most pharmacies (or 19.99 with a Walgreens coupon) [2] The more recently approved version of Insulin Afrezza, (approved in 2014) costs about $2,000 for a monthly supply.[3] There has been a fairly consistent march of insulin improvements since the first versions were sold in 1926. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_(medication)#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_(medication)#History https://www.walmart.com/cp/relion-insulin/8418641?action=SignIn&rm=true https://www.walmart.com/cp/relion-insulin/8418641?action=Sig... https://www.goodrx.com/insulin-lispro https://www.goodrx.com/insulin-lispro https://pharmacy.amazon.com/afrezza-180-Cartridge-Pack-Insulin/dp/B08H5GW3CX?ref_=sr_1_1&s=amazon-pharmacy&keywords=Afrezza&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.G1eJumdZLiJz_YGO5jPyhF0PyCm0BzXfcbNsE-UaOlvGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.WJ-6paJ7UTx2L75OiQoI-z-2DCSoqhyQpItq30gpXX8&qid=1728175255&sr=1-1 https://pharmacy.amazon.com/afrezza-180-Cartridge-Pack-Insul...