3 ms·
As an aside, I always thought that, while science was expensive, chemicals were cheap. But this article's ballpark figures are about hundreds of thousands of do
by emiliobumachar 12y ago
As an aside, I always thought that, while science was expensive, chemicals were cheap. But this article's ballpark figures are about hundreds of thousands of dollars per dose for drug production in small scale.
I know it will vary wildly from drug to drug, but, in general, does anyone know if it actually costs that much to manufacture a single dose?
Also, what if a rich, terminally sick person decides to break the law and manufacture a promising experimental drug for her own use in her basement? The chemical formula is in the published papers, after all. How many specialists would be needed in the conspiracy?
- ctolsen 12y agoThe marginal cost of a single dose is probably never very high, unless precursors required are extremely scarce. Still, it wouldn't be in the hundreds of thousands. The cost lies in the development of the drug, plus the ten other drugs that didn't make it to market where R&D costs need to be recouped. And small scale production is naturally more labour-intensive.
- nikanj 12y agoIt costs that much to manufacture the first doses, as there's a lot of hand crafting and lab work involved. Lab technicians are expensive, and the labs themselves are even more expensive. Later on, the manufacture turns from labour-intensive lab work to something more resembling a factory, and the cost per dose drops dramatically.
- streptomycin 12y agoThis doesn't really answer your question, but a lot of new drugs are "biologic" drugs which are much more complicated and expensive to manufacture than small chemicals.