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submitted 2 weeks ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] ryannathans@aussie.zone 39 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Soo why sell the patent for $1 and have it be potentially exploited when you could hold onto it and licence use for free?

[-] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 62 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

IIRC the insulin being sold now is manufactured differently and the patents are completely different anyway

But overall your point is good

[-] TheKingBee@lemmy.world 37 points 2 weeks ago

It is different, but it's still incredibly cheap to make, $4 a vial, so it costing in the hundreds is just antihuman...

[-] TheJesusaurus@sh.itjust.works 33 points 2 weeks ago

It's not anti human, the rest of us get it just fine. It's specifically anti-american

[-] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 10 points 2 weeks ago

This is a great way of phrasing things.

Services that are necessary for life (like healthcare)...if other countries have figured out how to make it affordable/free (at point of use), any person or industry that tries to extract profit out of it is literally anti-American.

[-] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

Bingo. It's extortion and if the asshat in charge gave any kind of a real fuck about cheap medicine it should've been a day 1 fix.

[-] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 weeks ago

Absolutely. I'm just saying that the original guy selling the patent isn't the reason that corporations can gouge Americans for insulin now.

[-] thesystemisdown@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago

The insulin produced now has benefited from advances in technology just like most things. The fast acting insulin is predictable and works in 45 minutes to an hour and a half. The original insulin took hours and wasn't nearly as predictable or stable. Testing/monitoring technology has seen even more significant advances.

I owe Banting and his colleagues my life, but it is different. That's not to say that the continued well being of the public should be profitable and exclusive.

[-] mirshafie@europe.pub 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I mean insulin is about 10x more expensive in the USA compared to other Western countries. It's cheaper still in lower income countries. Many European countries also have a price ceiling for medication, so your monthly cost for life-saving drugs is capped.

I don't know exactly why a manufacturer doesn't set up production for much cheaper generics in the USA, but for whatever reason Americans are getting price gouged like Satan doesn't believe in tomorrow.

[-] icelimit@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 weeks ago

Whatever reason? Simple reason: legal to maximize profits over people's misfortunes.

[-] Bubbaonthebeach@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

To be fair, most Americans agree with the capitalist first approach right up until it affects them individually. If they were willing to help each other instead of believing that anyone other than themself is a freeloader and lazy, they would have the support that other countries take for granted.