• Lettuce eat lettuce
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      But don’t worry! If you’re fortunate enough to have a job at a good company that pays well, then you can spend $300-$500 of your monthly paycheck to have an insurance company possibly cover up to 80% of the cost! Assuming you are in-network, picked the right plan, followed all the confusing steps to file a claim, and aren’t disqualified by one of their dozens of contingencies.

      Land of the free babay!

        • Kabaka
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          Nobody was saying it would be. The headline and article are about production costs at different scales, not prices for anyone buying it after that.

          Hill had calculated a generic price of $40 annually last year, but said the interest from generic manufacturers had warranted new analysis. This showed lenacapavir could be mass produced for $35 to $46 a year, if there was annual demand for 2m doses, falling to $25 at scaled up production of 5m to 10m doses each year.

          Oh wait, I missed a line where the article actually suggests this…

          Dr Hill’s research indicates that this gamechanging innovation could – within a year of launch – be produced and sold for just $25 per person per year.

          But you’re right, they won’t sell it for $0 of profit. It would be nice.

          • Bakkoda
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            219 hours ago

            FDA can grant exclusivity to that drug. And then once there’s finally a generic that can also be granted a one year exclusivity. The FDA facilitates scarcity.

          • @Etterra@discuss.online
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            61 day ago

            No they’ll sell it for 50x what an annual treatment regimen costs. That way they can grind down the desperate and still profit off the rich.

  • @Etterra@discuss.online
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    381 day ago

    Well that’ll never happen - not when the drug companies can sell $2000 a month or die medication to the inflicted for the rest of their lives.

    • They have to recoup their costs somehow. Their licence will expire after a while and other companies and make the product and therefore brigdown the price.

      • @zbyte64
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        317 hours ago

        It’s not like we have taxes to pay for such things (at least anymore thx to Doge)

      • @null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        320 hours ago

        It’s nutty this comment is downvoted to oblivion but “infinite breeding here we cum” idiot is getting upvotes.

        It’s shit, but it’s true. The company that researched this amazing thing needs to get paid.

        Maybe we could just give them $20b to forego their royalties, but then what if a better drug was developed next year which we wanted instead?

        Until someone solves the problem of funding medications, this will be the reality.

        • @CorvidCawder@sh.itjust.works
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          19 hours ago

          It’s getting downvoted to oblivion because it ignores many things, namely the fact that a lot of drug research worldwide is state-funded. There are many cases in which pharmaceutical companies use public funds for R&D, and then go on to sell the drug at steep prices, raking in immense profits.

          Meanwhile the public has to either cough up the bucks, or wait until the patent expires to have affordable options.

          • @null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            112 hours ago

            These are generalisations. It’s facebook grandma reasoning.

            What elements of the R&D process for this medication were state funded and to what extent?

            Loads of industries receive support and incentives and grants from governments, they’re not required to give their product away?

            There’s no doubt that large components of the medical industry, and the pharmaceutical industry are unethical profiteers.

            It’s also true that the research needs to be funded somehow.

            My point is, there is nuance here that most lemmy users just aren’t interested in. It’s not as simple as “pharma bad”.

  • @AmazingAwesomator@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    i understand that if it costs $25 to make it then it needs to cost a bit more for supply chain, profits etc (regularly a 50% increase from factory and another 50% increase to retail), but i’ll bet you a $500 bottle of HIV-ending drugs that this wont cost $56.25.

    • @Zenith@lemm.ee
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      121 day ago

      $500 a bottle would be practically giving it away in the US. Most life sustaining meds or the rare cure are sold at unfathomable prices. One of my post-transplant anti rejection meds is $60,000 a month

    • @foggy@lemmy.world
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      61 day ago

      Let’s call it $100 per head.

      Hey Elon, you wanna leave behind a legacy that doesn’t suck?

      Here’s your last chance, asshole.

  • FistingEnthusiast
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    232 days ago

    It’s disgusting that drug companies prioritise massive profits over human suffering

    They could still profit, just not the truly obscene profits they make, going into the pockets of people who are already rich

    • ObjectivityIncarnate
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      This take generally comes from looking at the profits of successful drug X, while being unaware of (or ignoring) all of the drugs that have millions upon millions put into their R&D, that never result in anything that can go to market.

      Overall profits will seem much higher than they actually are if you leave out that very-relevant data.

      • FistingEnthusiast
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        252 days ago

        I worked in health care

        I’m familiar

        I’ve heard all the arguments, and I know how much money is poured into drugs that don’t go anywhere

        I also know how their shareholders and executives fare, and I stand behind my statement

          • FistingEnthusiast
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            82 days ago

            That wouldn’t surprise me,

            Having said that, it’s not common for pharmaceutical ads to be legal

            It’s classically 'Murican

            A few other countries allow drug advertising, but not many

  • Ernest
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    162 days ago

    naming your company fucking “Gilead” is some torment nexus-ass shit

      • Ernest
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        41 day ago

        It looks like that’s indeed the case, and they’ve been around long enough that Handmaid’s probably wasn’t that well-known at the time. Still, the irony is off the charts… have they considered changing their logo to the traditional four-armed rotationally-symmetric sacred Buddhist symbol? >.>

    • @Ledericas@lemm.ee
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      the company has been around for a long time, before the book was made famous, one of the first things i saw when applying to lab/biotech was gilead position for scientists. this was already 10 years ago.

      they even have transportaiton buses from our city to thier campuses, because its quite far away from a city if you work in biotech.

    • Maeve
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      21 day ago

      Yeah, I grimaced at the name and implications.

      • @tehn00bi@lemmy.world
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        11 day ago

        If this shot were to become common in the gay community, would that just leave the IV drug community to be the main transmitter of HIV? Could we potentially see HIV effectively eradicated?

        • @null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          119 hours ago

          I don’t really know bit my supposition would be that eradication isn’t really on the table presently.

          This is only a prophylactic. There are people right now with HIV who (excluding a “cure” emerging) will be potentially infectious in 40 or 50 years.

          In the short to medium term making this accessible to populations in areas with a high prevalence could avoid millions of infections.

  • Snot Flickerman
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    132 days ago

    Gilead

    Oh, so it’s assured they will bleed people dry then, based on this company’s track record.

  • @Wahots@pawb.social
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    82 days ago

    This is the drug I’m super hyped about. Even if it was $35, it would be life-changing for millions of people.