This drug cost $40 in 2000. It's now $40,000.

[TrippyHippy]

Acthar has been on the market since 1952 and is primarily used to treat infantile spasms, a rare condition. Why does Acthar cost $40,000 today, an increase of 100,000 percent from the cost in 2001? Pure greed.

You can buy an identical drug to Acthar called Synacthen for just $33 in Canada. Synacthen is also available in Europe, where the drug is also reasonably priced. But the company that currently makes Acthar in the United States, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, bought the rights to Synacthen in America and doesn’t sell it in the US.

(sic)

The story of Acthar should be familiar to anyone who followed the EpiPen saga of 2016. The price of the EpiPen, a common injectable drug product for allergies, went from $57 in 2007 to roughly $600 in 2016. Mylan, the maker of EpiPen, did absolutely nothing to improve the product while it engaged in this price gouging. Thankfully, the US Justice Department appears to be investigating Mylan and according to some reports might finally bring charges this year against the company for a host of allegations, including price fixing. The investigation into Mylan reportedly started in 2014. But we’ll see if anyone goes to jail.

As for Mallinckrodt, that company will continue to charge $40,000 for a drug that’s been out of patent for decades. And they’ve even expanded the marketing for the drug to treat things like rheumatoid arthritis. As you can see from the episode, there’s no real evidence that Acthar is effective in treating arthritis.

With any luck, the US Department of Justice will take a look at Mallinckrodt soon. But, until then, people who need to buy Acthar for their babies better have insurance. Because even if that $40,000 price tag is pushed down, there are still countless other ways that American continue to get screwed on drug prices.

Much of the rest of the world doesn’t have to deal with this shit. Every other industrialized country guarantees health care for its citizens and is able to negotiate for better drug prices and impose strict regulations. The really sick part? Medicare isn’t legally allowed to negotiate drug prices, leading to extreme price gouging by drug companies across the board. Roughly 92 percent of Americans believe that Medicare should be able to negotiate drug prices, but the drug lobby is a behemoth that is easily allowed to trample democracy.

The executives in U.S pharmaceutical industry are criminals and deserve to be locked up alongside our nation's worst murderers, rapists, and pedos in max security prison. Price gouging life saving drugs is a particularly egregious crime and much blood is on their hands.

Furthermore, something needs to be done to prevent this in the future. Flimsy ass government regulation will do little to nothing, as government regulation, like patent law, is much to blame for why this is happening in the first place. Lobbyists own our politicians, both red and blue, any new regulation passed will likely serve to increase big pharma stranglehold on the people. Stripping medicinal patent law could be a good start in the short term, let other companies or new companies undercut these assholes and run them out of business.

Time to change the healthcare conversation.

https://gizmodo.com/the-price-of-this-drug-went-up-100-000-percent-since-20-1825819643
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/29/heal..._source=fbCNN&utm_content=2018-06-30T23:30:10

 

[ThatOwlWoman]

The executives in U.S pharmaceutical industry are criminals and deserve to be locked up alongside our nation's worst murderers, rapists, and pedos in max security prison. Price gouging life saving drugs is a particularly egregious crime and much blood is on their hands.

Furthermore, something needs to be done to prevent this in the future. Flimsy ass government regulation will do little to nothing, as government regulation, like patent law, is much to blame for why this is happening in the first place. Lobbyists own our politicians, both red and blue, any new regulation passed will likely serve to increase big pharma stranglehold on the people. Stripping medicinal patent law could be a good start in the short term, let other companies or new companies undercut these assholes and run them out of business.

Time to change the healthcare conversation.

https://gizmodo.com/the-price-of-this-drug-went-up-100-000-percent-since-20-1825819643
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/29/heal..._source=fbCNN&utm_content=2018-06-30T23:30:10

Ra-men. Insurance companies are in on this scam as well. There is a quick and easy solution. National health care for all, with the oversight agency given the power to negotiate drug pricing with the pharm companies.

 

[TrippyHippy]

Ra-men. Insurance companies are in on this scam as well. There is a quick and easy solution. National health care for all, with the oversight agency given the power to negotiate drug pricing with the pharm companies.

Eh. Ideally, I would tend to agree with you. However I'm a pragmatist. This country is so slanted right that our "left wing" party resembles right of center parties almost anywhere else. I don't think chanting the universal healthcare mantra is really helping right now while people are actively dying from lack of access to these life-saving drugs. I wouldn't consider support for such policy a quick and easy solution in a country where most people think single-payer healthcare is socialized medicine.

Not to mention increasing government power will not ever help anything anyway until we unweb the tight-knit connection between corporation and government that exists currently. Any discussion of regulation should frankly not be had until we work on that. I don't really consider myself a laissez-faire capitalist, however in the current political climate it is true that our government is doing more far more to hurt than help right now. There are alot of regulations put in place specifically to protect big corporations and stifle potential competition. I don't trust our current government as far as I can throw them, so I certainly don't trust them to negotiate drug prices on our behalf lol. Stripping patent law and protectionist government regulation is where we should start imho.

 

[Phantasmal]

The executives in U.S pharmaceutical industry are criminals and deserve to be locked up alongside our nation's worst murderers, rapists, and pedos in max security prison. Price gouging life saving drugs is a particularly egregious crime and much blood is on their hands.

Furthermore, something needs to be done to prevent this in the future. Flimsy ass government regulation will do little to nothing, as government regulation, like patent law, is much to blame for why this is happening in the first place. Lobbyists own our politicians, both red and blue, any new regulation passed will likely serve to increase big pharma stranglehold on the people. Stripping medicinal patent law could be a good start in the short term, let other companies or new companies undercut these assholes and run them out of business.

Time to change the healthcare conversation.

https://gizmodo.com/the-price-of-this-drug-went-up-100-000-percent-since-20-1825819643
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/29/heal..._source=fbCNN&utm_content=2018-06-30T23:30:10

These people really should be heavily fined. I thought Trump was going to fix this?

 

[TrippyHippy]

These people really should be heavily fined. I thought Trump was going to fix this?

Your heart is in the right place, but fines are not going to impact these people at all. Lock em up.

And there is little Trump can do to fix this without our legislators behind him. To be fair.

 

[Legion]

These people really should be heavily fined. I thought Trump was going to fix this?

You don't 'think', you erupt.

Drugmakers defy Trump's call to drop prices

“The industry isn’t taking the administration seriously on drug pricing because there doesn’t appear to be a credible threat if they don’t comply with these requests,” said Stacie Dusetzina, a drug pricing expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “While there are some items in the recently released Drug Pricing Blueprint that explore ways to incentivize companies to not increase prices or to increase accountability for price hikes, these are a long way from being implemented.”

Without any formal rule-making or legislating in the pipeline, any real incentive to change for the industry is likely years away “Public opinion is highly negative on pharma’s behavior, and the president’s call reflected that,” said John Rother, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care, which includes health insurers, patient advocacy groups and professional medical societies. “But the combination of patent policies that guarantee monopolies and the industry’s lobbying and campaign contributions seem to insulate them from effective action to restrain unaffordable prices, at least to date.

“The bully pulpit can't make fundamental change — it can provide perhaps a short-term victory, a story to tell, but it can’t do what the administration said it was going to do,” said Walid Gellad, who directs the Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing at the University of Pittsburgh.”


https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/03/drugmakers-trump-drug-prices-668260

 

[TrippyHippy]

You don't 'think', you erupt.

Drugmakers defy Trump's call to drop prices

“The industry isn’t taking the administration seriously on drug pricing because there doesn’t appear to be a credible threat if they don’t comply with these requests,” said Stacie Dusetzina, a drug pricing expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “While there are some items in the recently released Drug Pricing Blueprint that explore ways to incentivize companies to not increase prices or to increase accountability for price hikes, these are a long way from being implemented.”

Without any formal rule-making or legislating in the pipeline, any real incentive to change for the industry is likely years away “Public opinion is highly negative on pharma’s behavior, and the president’s call reflected that,” said John Rother, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care, which includes health insurers, patient advocacy groups and professional medical societies. “But the combination of patent policies that guarantee monopolies and the industry’s lobbying and campaign contributions seem to insulate them from effective action to restrain unaffordable prices, at least to date.

“The bully pulpit can't make fundamental change — it can provide perhaps a short-term victory, a story to tell, but it can’t do what the administration said it was going to do,” said Walid Gellad, who directs the Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing at the University of Pittsburgh.”


https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/03/drugmakers-trump-drug-prices-668260

Won't let me thank your post, but "thank."

 

[ThatOwlWoman]

Your heart is in the right place, but fines are not going to impact these people at all. Lock em up.

And there is little Trump can do to fix this without our legislators behind him. To be fair.

They're in the pockets of the pharm companies.

 

[SmarterthanYou]

Ra-men. Insurance companies are in on this scam as well. There is a quick and easy solution. National health care for all, with the oversight agency given the power to negotiate drug pricing with the pharm companies.

stupidity. why on earth would we restructure healthcare and let a GOVERNMENT agency run it, when most elected government officials have a financial stake in the healthcare industry?????????????

 

[Cancel 2018.2]

Ra-men. Insurance companies are in on this scam as well. There is a quick and easy solution. National health care for all, with the oversight agency given the power to negotiate drug pricing with the pharm companies.

Seems like a good idea. Who is going to pay for it and what plans does everyone get and who decides which treatment is approved?

 

[Phantasmal]

Your heart is in the right place, but fines are not going to impact these people at all. Lock em up.

And there is little Trump can do to fix this without our legislators behind him. To be fair.

Yes, but the party right now seems to be in fear of him. If he really wanted to make changes, he could.

 

[Cancel 2018.2]

These people really should be heavily fined. I thought Trump was going to fix this?

Fined for what? What law did they violate?

 

[Phantasmal]

Fined for what? What law did they violate?

Robbery

 

[Phantasmal]

Fined for what? What law did they violate?

Seriously, though, price gouging and monopoly.

 

[Legion]

stupidity. why on earth would we restructure healthcare and let a GOVERNMENT agency run it, when most elected government officials have a financial stake in the healthcare industry?????????????

Hilarious, isn't it?

DEMOCRATS love to cry about debt & deficits when a Republican in president (and, to be fair, the GOP does the same when a DEMOCRAT infests the White House), and they want the government to run the pharmaceutical supply chain?

 

[Legion]

Seriously, though, price gouging and monopoly.

So, as usual, you have no facts to bolster your "feelings" with, only uniformed bloviation and emotive nonsense?

Seriously, won't the world be a better place when you're no longer alive?

 

[Dirt McGirt]

The executives in U.S pharmaceutical industry are criminals and deserve to be locked up alongside our nation's worst murderers, rapists, and pedos in max security prison. Price gouging life saving drugs is a particularly egregious crime and much blood is on their hands.

Furthermore, something needs to be done to prevent this in the future. Flimsy ass government regulation will do little to nothing, as government regulation, like patent law, is much to blame for why this is happening in the first place. Lobbyists own our politicians, both red and blue, any new regulation passed will likely serve to increase big pharma stranglehold on the people. Stripping medicinal patent law could be a good start in the short term, let other companies or new companies undercut these assholes and run them out of business.

Time to change the healthcare conversation.

https://gizmodo.com/the-price-of-this-drug-went-up-100-000-percent-since-20-1825819643
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/29/heal..._source=fbCNN&utm_content=2018-06-30T23:30:10

I agree about the regulations not making a difference. Rather than more government involvement we should let capitalism win out. It would do more to keep the pharma companies honest to make it legal for people to get drugs from elsewhere with a prescription than more regulations would.

 

[Cancel 2018.2]

Robbery

What force did they use to take people's money?

 

[Truth Detector]

The executives in U.S pharmaceutical industry are criminals and deserve to be locked up alongside our nation's worst murderers, rapists, and pedos in max security prison. Price gouging life saving drugs is a particularly egregious crime and much blood is on their hands.

Furthermore, something needs to be done to prevent this in the future. Flimsy ass government regulation will do little to nothing, as government regulation, like patent law, is much to blame for why this is happening in the first place. Lobbyists own our politicians, both red and blue, any new regulation passed will likely serve to increase big pharma stranglehold on the people. Stripping medicinal patent law could be a good start in the short term, let other companies or new companies undercut these assholes and run them out of business.

Time to change the healthcare conversation.

https://gizmodo.com/the-price-of-this-drug-went-up-100-000-percent-since-20-1825819643
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/29/heal..._source=fbCNN&utm_content=2018-06-30T23:30:10

So Obamacare is a failure then right?

Obama was lying when he said this right?

President Obama Proposes Cuts To Health Care Spending To Lower Deficit

 

[Legion]

Ra-men. Insurance companies are in on this scam as well. There is a quick and easy solution. National health care for all, with the oversight agency given the power to negotiate drug pricing with the pharm companies.

How's that scenario working for you in the public education field?