Price gouging by Big Pharma: How do you stop it? (1 Viewer)

[coldseat]

Two pharmaceutical company's (likely more, not sure) have engaged in extreme price gouging when it comes to their drugs or drugs they have bought the rights to.

What happened to AIDS drug that spiked 5,000% - Aug. 25, 2016


EpiPen CEO: Blame the 'broken' system, not me - Aug. 25, 2016

These companies basically operarte as oligarchies once they have a drug that's patterned and effective, with no regulation or competition as to what they can charge consumers. There actions have severely impacted citizens lives negatively and the only concern by the company is as to profit margin.

Many decry regulations, but should drug pricing be regulated and price controlled? What other methods can be incorporated to control drug pricing and prevent abuses such as these?

Another thing is that while most companies won't engage in this extreme and overt type of behavior, I don't doubt for a second that there are many are pricing their drugs well above a fair market value that is consistent with their investment and a decent profit margin. It's basically the wild, wild west of drug pricing for these new drugs that are under patent protection.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

shoot the CEOs and all board members in the face

 

[WhoDatPhan78]

Two pharmaceutical company's (likely more, not sure) have engaged in extreme price gouging when it comes to their drugs or drugs they have bought the rights to.

What happened to AIDS drug that spiked 5,000% - Aug. 25, 2016


EpiPen CEO: Blame the 'broken' system, not me - Aug. 25, 2016

These companies basically operarte as oligarchies once they have a drug that patterned and effective, with no regulation or competition as to what they can charge consumers. There actions have severely impacted citizens lives negatively and the only concern by the company is as to profit margin.

Many decry regulations, but should drug pricing be regulated and price controlled? What other methods can be incorporated to control drug pricing and prevent abuses such as these?

Another thing is that while most companies won't engage in this extreme and overt type of behavior, I don't doubt for a second that there are many are pricing their drugs well above a fair market value that is consistent with their investment and a decent profit margin. It's basically the wild, wild west of drug pricing for these new drugs that are under patent protection.

Public shaming of the company and the individuals responsible for setting the prices.

It seems to have done some good with the epi pen situiation.

Not everyone has the resolve of that Martin Shkrumbucket dude.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Mylan CEO Bresch: 'No one's more frustrated than me' about EpiPen price furor

 

[coldseat]

Public shaming of the company and the individuals responsible for setting the prices.

It seems to have done some good with the epi pen situiation.

Not everyone has the resolve of that Martin Shkrumbucket dude.

That's an option when it's so egregious, but is it really effective. Look at the prices, the AIDS drug price was cut in half, but it's still at 2500% increase. And now the drug company totes that it "cut" its drug price in half. Yeah right!

Also, what about the numerous other drugs and drug companies that do it, but it's not as egregious as to cause out rage, it's just ridiculously over priced? How do we even know what a fair market price is for a drug when there is no competition?

 

[HobBeh]

Whats the price in Europe?


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[coldseat]

Mylan CEO Bresch: 'No one's more frustrated than me' about EpiPen price furor

That's rich her trying to deflect and blame the health care system as a whole. Only a 1 percent-er can dream up irony that rich when their company is the only one that can control its price.

Even more absurd is that she has a point. It's just that she's leaving out that they're blatantly taking advantage of screwed up system to make ridiculous profits and screw their customers in the process for as long as they can.

 

[WhoDatPhan78]

That's an option when it's so egregious, but is it really effective. Look at the prices, the AIDS price was cut in half, but it's still at 2500% increase. And not the drug company toats that it "cut" its drug price in half. Yeah right!

Also, what about the numerous other drugs and drug companies that do it, but it's not as egregious as to cause out rage, it's just ridiculously over priced? How do we even know what a fair market price is for a drug when there is no competition?

Yea, It's only effective when it's something terrible.

I think the answer is really just to forbid patents on medication and have the government fund all the research.

We might end up with less penis pills that way, but at least lifesaving drugs will be affordable.

 

[Galbreath34]

National single payer health care, where a review board sets an ethical price after listening to arguments from Pharma about what they think it should be.

The argument is, lower profits = lower willingness to invest in research. Same BS used to say when CG tax goes up investment will go down (investment rates have never been affected 0.00001% by CG rate changes after a month or two they revert). They earn over double the profits of oil and gas, only banking can keep up with them for greed (and they edge that sector out).

Pharmaceutical industry gets high on fat profits - BBC News

Have a panel responsible for price setting. The idle threat of "If we only make 200 million instead of 5 billion, we aren't even gonna bother trying, we'll just shut down all research" is not at all believable by anyone with half a brain.

The funny thing is these same companies sell their drugs in Sweden, Japan, and all the other industrialized countries at the prices set by their national health care. They just bilk us like mad because they can, and because they spend more lobbying Congress than tobacco, oil and the NRA all rolled into one.

(BTW, when's the last time you heard of them refusing to sell a drug in Europe or Canada at a profit because that profit was less than in the states? Never.)

 

[RetroMcBananaFace]

If a drug increases price by x%, it loses its patent protection. That's what I would do.

 

[Galbreath34]

Whats the price in Europe?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Drug company stung by criticism of "outrageous" EpiPen price rises - BBC News

Earlier this week a woman posted on the photo-sharing platform Imgur, advising others how EpiPens could be more cheaply acquired online from New Zealand. In the post, which was viewed more than 100,000 times in the space of a few hours, she recounted how she had been able to buy a single pen for around $120. One user wrote: "Thank you so much for this. I had no clue what to do about my son's EpiPens which we could no longer afford. You may have saved a 3-year-old's life".

 

[CountWhoDat]

At the end of the day, it is not the ultimate objective of drug companies, or any other corporations, to be a "good corporate citizen". Their only obligation is to their shareholders and the board of directors. If the two things happen to coincide, that's fine, but one goal trumps the other.

This is the result when we worship at the totem of "letting the market decide." Healthcare in general and pharmaceuticals specifically are a price inelastic product. Companies can charge obscene prices but the demand will not change appreciably because people need the drug.

I don't know what the solution is. One of the dumbest canards is that if these companies cannot make a profit, innovation will be stifled. In fact, much of the basic research that leads to the development of novel pharmaceuticals is funded by "big gubmint" grants. Yet another example of corporate welfare.

Personally I don't think the price gouging is Big Pharma's greatest sin. In my opinion, marketing medications with debilitating side effects for off-label use without FDA approval is worse. Thousands of people have died or become disabled because of this, which is nothing more than greed disguised as health maintenance.

 

[HobBeh]

Drug company stung by criticism of "outrageous" EpiPen price rises - BBC News

Exactly.


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[Galbreath34]

That's why you don't let certain things into the free market. You don't let people hire private judges and police to arrest who they want to pay to arrest. You don't have firemen only put out fires at homes if they keep fire insurance up to date for their family. Oddly, we think it's fine to allow full extortion when it comes to deciding whether our loved ones or selves get to live or die, because how could it be wrong for someone to profit off of your desire to live?

We figured this out so easily for Fire and Police and Military, and I'm not at all sure how medicine slipped through the cracks.

 

[SWJJ]

These are the EXACT reasons I have come to the conclusion that health care in America should be a right and NOT a commodity.

This affects me directly, my ability to have current epipens on hand means life and death for my daughter.

As it does countless people standing next to you who don't share how we have to leave birthday parties before cake is served, or the panicked moment at the ER when you first discovered an anaphylactic food allergy.

We are paying too much for life saving necessities so a handful of people can make an exorbitant income.