Posted on 08/25/2016 11:02:40 PM PDT by Rummyfan
A couple of years ago, I got my front teeth knocked out by a combination of bad decisions and gravity. I had never so much as seen the inside of a dentist’s office, so I didn’t really know what to expect. The reality was amazing: I went to a tiny little office a few blocks down from National Review’s palatial penthouse at Buckley Towers, where a lovely young Indian immigrant gazed into my mug and compared some enamels samples like a painter trying to decide whether your living room is actually “Westhighland white” or more of a “Restoration ivory,” and then whipped up some new teeth, first a temporary set and then, a week or so later, permanent replacements. Cost a few hundred bucks.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Crony capitalism at its worst.
That is what I thought! I recall seeing that stuff around for a while.
I have also noticed the left wing connection to that other guy who jacked up the price on medicine.... he was a Bernie supporter.
Bad decisions? What does he mean and how did he get his teeth knocked out? This is the guy who wants working class people to die.
There is also the issue that the EpiPen does seem to be as close to ‘idiot proof’ as can be achieved - I’m not sure if the alternatives are. They may be - I’ve only ever seen the epiPens.
I’m a teacher who has had to administer these twice when students have started having severe allergic reactions (well, in one case, it was definitely a real reaction - in the other, I’m not 100% sure if it was a real reaction or a panicking kid but decided not to take the chance). When seconds count and it’s amateurs like me doing it, you want it to be simple.
He also praised the Chinese and denigrated Trump. I must say his style of writing is much more FR than William F. Buckley. In fact, it read like he had his secretary transcribe in from a tape he made while walking down 3rd Avenue.
Their main competitor had a major recall. So they had the market cornered.
Oh, is that the guy? Well, that is interesting. I still think he makes good points about Bernie and Hillary.
Her husband’s father is a convicted crook. Don’t recall the particulars but it was a scam deal.
Thanks for the links! I’ve already passed them on to son (who is allergic to bees along with his 2yo daughter) and wife.
sneaks
This jack in price is due to GREED. My grand-daughter nearly died 3 years ago because of a reaction to peanut butter. She’s had to carry this “Epipen:” with her everywhere. Her parents are hard working citizens who don’t own “money trees” and can’t print money the way our government does.
Thanks for the information on adrenaclick.com
F.A. Hayak warned us (Road to Serfdom) that unrealistic patent lifespan can stifle the free market of competition. This is rampant in the pharmaceutical industry. It’s also shameful and abhorrent. They are making billions off the sufferings of humanity.
“Mylan didn’t invent the EpiPen, they purchased the patents for it.”
This kind of crap has to stop. Patents with unrealistic longevity is killing “free” enterprise. There can be NO competition.
“It is articles like this that make Republicans look bad”
It’s articles like this that make conservatism look bad...and in fact ... is bad for free market capitalism. Mylan is showing just how greedy unfettered capitalism can get when there is no competition for the SAME product and brand.
Thank you so much for this info. My Epi-Pen is out of date and I’ll ask my doctor to prescribe Adrenaclick instead.
One of the cost factors for those who have dangerous allergic shock reactions is the expiration date on products like EpiPen. While according to the research injectable epinephrine does lose some of its potency over time, it remains potent enough for emergency use for a number of years beyond the expiration date - so long as what should be a clear fluid does not become cloudy.
If I was in your position (a) I would ask for a generic and(b) I would do my research to determine the loss of effective potency date.
I would add that the FDA owns significant responsibility for this situation since it has contributed to the Mylan monopoly through its slow walking of competitors products and failure to demand stabilizers that lengthen the life of the epinephrine.
It’s easy to not care about money when you have plenty.
Aw, you guys had it easy.
Try several hours at Ft Huachuca in MOPP 4 in the summer. Had to pour a gallon of sweat out of the boots afterward.
naturalman1975 wrote: The EpiPen does seem to be as close to ‘idiot proof’ as can be achieved - I’m not sure if the alternatives are."
A recent competitor, Auvi-Q, first pocket sized 'speaking' auto-injector was even more 'idiot proof'...however, after mass recall in 2015 due to "potential [unsubstantiated] dosage inaccuracies', Sanofi no longer sells/produces Auvi-Q but....
Also consider...Senator Manchin's recent quirky indecision may have triggered vengeful Hillary's attack on this issue...
Oh, and Epinephrine can still be purchased at your local feed supply stores for significantly less... so it's not the cost of the drug driving the increase.
bjc wrote:" (b) I would do my research to determine the loss of effective potency date."
Good luck with the research. I have asked pharmacists and physicians for help with this research - to no avail.
I have two offspring requiring access to epinephrine injectors due to allergies (bees, shellfish, seafood, nuts, peanuts, sulpha, penicillin ). While in school and sports, I needed to keep three injector sets for each since there was 7 years between them in age/size. Over the years I saved the 'expired' epi-pens and Auvi-Q's because the liquid remained clear and suddenly became very, very expensive recently to replace. I have many expired sets in cool dark storage which I refuse to discard unless the liquid turns cloudy.
On the subject of pricing scandals, let’s not forget about public school taxes rising double digits each year for the last few decades...and that product doesn’t even work.
A typical patent lifespan is 20 years. That's 20 years from the time a drug company discovers the molecule, and decides they want to pursue it. This is NOT 20 years from the time they launch the product commercially.
Now, if the manufacturer discovers new indications for the drug, they can extend the patent. Extend, but not indefinitely.
But to your assertion, how does this make conservatism or free market look bad? Isn't anyone free to do the research and invent their own epi-like pen? No one is stopping the development of a different kind of drug. Wouldn't the introduction of a product that works by the same or even a different mechanism challenge the existing pen?
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