Yet again, another reason to 'trust' Big Pharma

[steffijade]

US pharmaceutical company defends 5,000% price increase - BBC News

Of course they care about people and are absolutely not primarily motivated by profit. /sarcasm mode off.

Big Pharma's propensity to stoop to the lowest levels of douchebaggery in order to make profit are readily apparent.

It's little wonder then that they lobbied so hard for TPD restrictions and the 'golden ticket' of MHRA licensing.

 

[davroz]

Especially when Turing Pharmaceuticals (owner of Daraprim the drug in question) is run by guys like Mr Shrkeli below.

"This is not the first time the 32-year-old Mr. Shkreli, who has a reputation for both brilliance and brashness, has been the center of controversy. He started MSMB Capital, a hedge fund company, in his 20s and drew attention for urging the Food and Drug Administration not to approve certain drugs made by companies whose stock he was shorting.

In 2011, Mr. Shkreli started Retrophin, which also acquired old neglected drugs and sharply raised their prices. Retrophin’s board fired Mr. Shkreli a year ago. Last month, it filed a complaint in Federal District Court in Manhattan, accusing him of using Retrophin as a personal piggy bank to pay back angry investors in his hedge fund.

Mr. Shkreli has denied the accusations. He has filed for arbitration against his old company, which he says owes him at least $25 million in severance. “They are sort of concocting this wild and crazy and unlikely story to swindle me out of the money,” he said."

Extract from NY Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/b...-price-raises-protests.html?ref=business&_r=1

 

[NINman]

Would you trust a guy that shagged his mother

 

[bellyman]

Motherfucker!

 

[city461]

To b e honest im lost for words over this...hes just a

 

[Huggett]

Make the rich richer, if you can afford it you can have it.

If you can't, well crawl into a hole and die like a peasant.

Sad greedy corrupt world we live in.

 

[collateral diarrhea]

Fucking hell.

My dad lives in my home country outside the UK, where the average monthly wage for most people is around £120-£150 (a lot lower if you live in a village or rural area). He takes 2 pills day, after suffering an infraction, he has diabetes type II and needs to take these pills to make sure that his heart doesn't shut down (he also has a pacemaker). The meds that he is on cost £200 a month in my home country and generic medicines that do the same thing as the branded drug are pushed out of the market by big pharma to the point where people simply don't know that they exist, and they cannot obtain them. Luckily, we were put in touch with a UK doctor who managed to get us a yearly supply of these (branded) meds, it cost us £300 to buy a YEARLY supply. Yet there are millions of old people who need this medicide and simply cannot afford it, literally, hospitals will refuse to give it to them if they are dying.

Big pharma + corrupt government is pretty a pretty fucked up combo. Medicine like this (the drug that the thread is about) should be free.

 

[schlinky]

It's another interesting topic.

Yes the guy is a capitalist, looks like a scumbag, has an awkward energy and seems generally unworthy of trust but my issue with this is the media. They're so quick to jump on something and push an agenda.

In this interview for example he makes it seem a lot more straight forward...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCIMUn_WNz0

It's an old drug that is quite toxic, there's probably a better alternative, if you or your insurance can't/won't pay you get it for free, it's a relatively short course with an 80% success rate, half the course of meds is free, typical cost was $1000 for a complete course which wasn't profitable, $50,000 is still a lot cheaper than some companies who charge $500,000 or more for on going treatment. The money will be used for developing better alternatives.

Yes I'm not that naive but there's got to be at least a little truth in that, and they're a company with shareholders wanting to make money, like everyone else on the planet.

It's like the kid who 'took a bomb' into school, the media jumped on it, oh isn't it terrible? and the kid's getting invited to the whitehouse.
What the kid actually did was take an old alarm clock apart and remounted the components in a case, he didn't 'invent a clock'.

Angles and agendas are everywhere. Big pharma is a business, a titanic business with a lot of money it wants to protect so it will always be lobbying and exerting it's power.

So this guy did something that made headlines, it's all about profit at the end of the day, everything is in this capitalist world we've created for ourselves. As long as we're distracted from the real issues that slip by unnoticed, through quiet bills that are rushed through, usually 'for our protection' that's the main thing.

Oh, that huge elephant that's shitting all over the garden and destroying the place? Nevermind that, look at this mouse, he's eating all your cheese!! Bastard!!

I'm just concerned for the path we're on, as a society, when the big corporations 'win' and all the forests are gone, we can't grow crops anymore because the ground is poisoned, there's no more fish in the polluted sea and the selected few have all the money what are they going to do? Eat it? Because it won't worth anything anymore.

Wow, I'm quite 'ranty' tonight, apologies

 

[collateral diarrhea]

I'm just concerned for the path we're on, as a society, when the big corporations 'win' and all the forests are gone, we can't grow crops anymore because the ground is poisoned, there's no more fish in the polluted sea and the selected few have all the money what are they going to do? Eat it? Because it won't worth anything anymore.

No, they will just go on living in a self contained sustainable underground bunker with access to everything they want while the rest of the world suffers. And you're right, money might be worthless, but it won't matter tho those who prepared well enough (those who had the $$$ to prepare).

Oh, that huge elephant that's shitting all over the garden and destroying the place? Nevermind that, look at this mouse, he's eating all your cheese!! Bastard!!

Price of a life saving drug is raised to the point where it is unaffordable - is that the little mouse? What is the elephant then?

I understand that the point here is that we, as species, have problems that are higher on the priority list. However my main concern is that if this sort of price hike is allowed, how long before other companies follow? This has happened in my home country, if you're not rich - forget about treating your 5 y.o. daughters leukemia unless you sell your kidney (people actually do).

Profit drives business, that is great. But when you compromise people for profit, it becomes a massive problem sooner or later, not always for the business. Now imagine that instead of an elephant you have an infestation of plague baring rats.

 

[schlinky]

No, they will just go on living in a self contained sustainable underground bunker with access to everything they want while the rest of the world suffers. And you're right, money might be worthless, but it won't matter tho those who prepared well enough (those who had the $$$ to prepare).


Price of a life saving drug is raised to the point where it is unaffordable - is that the little mouse? What is the elephant then?

I understand that the point here is that we, as species, have problems that are higher on the priority list. However my main concern is that if this sort of price hike is allowed, how long before other companies follow? This has happened in my home country, if you're not rich - forget about treating your 5 y.o. daughters leukemia unless you sell your kidney (people actually do).

Profit drives business, that is great. But when you compromise people for profit, it becomes a massive problem sooner or later, not always for the business. Now imagine that instead of an elephant you have an infestation of plague baring rats.

Profit drives the world, that is poop. It feels like an unending greed at the cost of everything else. Have you heard of a game called agar.io? Kinda reminds me of the world's corporations, gradually absorbing smaller companies and growing a little until they're huge and unstoppable.

There is irreparable damage being done to the planet every day in the name of profit, people's human rights and living standards are being eroded in the name of profit. Governments are also working with corporations to strip people's rights and privacy day by day.

The point I was trying to make is yes, this is terrible (or just 'bad' depending on how you frame it) but it's a drop in the ocean compared to what goes on every day.

Individuals are increasingly dissatisfied with their lives even if they're doing ok at 'the game' (making money), it's like we've lost touch of what life's about and now fill the void with empty calories instead of nourishing food. Life isn't about reality tv and soaps, it's not about selfies and narcissism, it's not about what car you own or the size of your house, it's not about the latest iphone that syncs with your watch. It's not about data collection and 'customer profiles' and it's not about profit.

I just wish I could fast forward a few hundred years to see where this shit storm is heading.

There are massive social hurdles to overcome, religion, race, sexuality etc. We're taught to fear others, it's a culture of mistrust and suspicion and that works for those in charge. If we're to truly progress as a species we need a global shift in mindset.

There's enough food to feed everyone on the planet and yet billions are starving, we're killing entire species of animals who have happily existed for millions of years before the need for greed reared it's ugly head. All in the name of money, an artificial construct which ultimately means nothing.

So, I agree, this one guy from one company putting up the price of one drug in line with other companies in the sector (for the sake of profit) is a bad thing but things are pretty screwed in general.

(Wow, full on hippy mode today! )

.....apologies!