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Genzyme, a drug company under the international group Sanofi, is stopping the production of the drug alemtuzumab. The reason? They plan to rebrand it later and sell it as much as 20 times the original price.
Here's why. Alemtuzumab is currently known as a drug for leukemia. But after various conclusive tests, it has proven to be effective for patients with Multiple Sclerosis, even at its advanced stage. It is even more effective and far less expensive than existing prescribed drugs for MS. Because of this, doctors are prescribing it off-label. This is the opportunity that Genzyme hopes to cash on.
This is ethics staring at businessmen in the face. To profit from medicine is bad enough. To profit from medicine whose patients are always limited by time due to their disease is just plain irresponsible and criminal. The people should express their disapproval of this and the government should do its best to regulate this and other unethical practices.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/exclusive-ms-drug-rebranded--at-up-to-20-times-the-price-8209885.html
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Whats new really. Pharmaceutical companies do a lot of really unethical stuff. Just ask africa.
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On October 14 2012 02:50 heliusx wrote:
Whats new really. Pharmaceutical companies do a lot of really unethical stuff. Just ask africa.
New?
Multiple Sclerosis.
20 times higher than the original price.
That's new.
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On October 14 2012 02:52 S:klogW wrote:Show nested quote +On October 14 2012 02:50 heliusx wrote:
Whats new really. Pharmaceutical companies do a lot of really unethical stuff. Just ask africa. New? Multiple Sclerosis. 20 times higher than the original price. That's new.
Whats new in the sense that the industry has been fucking people over since forever. They did the exact same thing almost with my albuteral inhalers. FDA made them change something on the dispenser therefore giving them a reset on the generic laws. Sending the prices skyrocketing from $5 to almost $100.
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On October 14 2012 02:53 heliusx wrote:Show nested quote +On October 14 2012 02:52 S:klogW wrote:On October 14 2012 02:50 heliusx wrote:
Whats new really. Pharmaceutical companies do a lot of really unethical stuff. Just ask africa. New? Multiple Sclerosis. 20 times higher than the original price. That's new. Whats new in the sense that the industry has been fucking people over since forever.
Everybody in power has been fucking over people not in power since forever. This one is unique because of the scale and the gravity of the greed here, considering that all the change the company will do is with the pigmentation with the drugs and the boxes.
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Read Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, and also more relevant Bad Pharma by the same author. There was an excerpt of Bad Pharma on bbc and the shit that pharma companies pull is simply hideous. Unethical, but not illegal.
As people pointed out though, big pharma has always behaved in this manner.
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On October 14 2012 02:53 heliusx wrote:Show nested quote +On October 14 2012 02:52 S:klogW wrote:On October 14 2012 02:50 heliusx wrote:
Whats new really. Pharmaceutical companies do a lot of really unethical stuff. Just ask africa. New? Multiple Sclerosis. 20 times higher than the original price. That's new. Whats new in the sense that the industry has been fucking people over since forever. They did the exact same thing almost with my albuteral inhalers. FDA made them change something on the dispenser therefore giving them a reset on the generic laws. Sending the prices skyrocketing from $5 to almost $100.
So that makes it okay to be complacent and act like nothing's wrong? How dare you discourage someone so smugly who is trying to raise awareness of evil. Your attitude is the reason shit like this gets swept under the rug. Shame on you.
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United States15275 Posts
On October 14 2012 02:56 sushiko wrote:
Read Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, and also more relevant Bad Pharma by the same author. There was an excerpt of Bad Pharma on bbc and the shit that pharma companies pull is simply hideous. Unethical, but not illegal.
As people pointed out though, big pharma has always behaved in this manner.
Which is why legality has, and always will be, completely irrelevant to the morality of any situation.
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On October 14 2012 02:57 Fateless wrote:Show nested quote +On October 14 2012 02:53 heliusx wrote:On October 14 2012 02:52 S:klogW wrote:On October 14 2012 02:50 heliusx wrote:
Whats new really. Pharmaceutical companies do a lot of really unethical stuff. Just ask africa. New? Multiple Sclerosis. 20 times higher than the original price. That's new. Whats new in the sense that the industry has been fucking people over since forever. They did the exact same thing almost with my albuteral inhalers. FDA made them change something on the dispenser therefore giving them a reset on the generic laws. Sending the prices skyrocketing from $5 to almost $100. So that makes it okay to be complacent and act like nothing's wrong? How dare you discourage someone so smugly who is trying to raise awareness of evil. Your attitude is the reason shit like this gets swept under the rug. Shame on you.
Lol....
I think you're misunderstanding me. All I was saying is they do shit like this on a daily basis. How am I acting complacent or pretending nothings wrong? I'm not trying to downplay their unethical bullshit. Shame on me? I say shame on you.
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Nothing is under the rug in this issue. Everyone knows that the health industry is a For Profit business now. Meaning they will do anything they can to make profit. Prescription costs, procedure costs, meeting the doctor costs...
Everyone is aware of it, nothing the general public can do about it, other than try to change health care laws. So nothing the general public can do about it.
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Question: How expensive would this medicine be at its new price when compared to other similar medications for treating MS?
I'm assuming that existing medications would be of comparable cost. Not that it makes their actions okay.
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This is basically what happens when the people whom the sick depend on to not die need to make sure that their quarterly earnings reports look good or be fired.
Modern capitalism at work <3
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I don't like how the general forum has been taken over by all the top news items on reddit
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On October 14 2012 02:56 sushiko wrote:
Read Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, and also more relevant Bad Pharma by the same author. There was an excerpt of Bad Pharma on bbc and the shit that pharma companies pull is simply hideous. Unethical, but not illegal.
As people pointed out though, big pharma has always behaved in this manner.
Love Ben Goldacre, he is really doing good work.
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On October 14 2012 03:08 thrawn2112 wrote:
I don't like how the general forum has been taken over by all the top news items on reddit
Don't see the problem as long as it brings up good points to discuss. Reddit pretty much has every news article posted there so it's not strange that the things people want to talk about make it here also.
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And for some reason people don't believe that pot is illegal for the same reason...
It's not just cheap, once legal it can be grown in your own backyard! no profit.
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There is a reason they're allowed to do this. Creating and eventually marketing any drug is a huge investment and for any company to think about making another new drug, they need to cash off their period of market exclusivity. The drug is intellectual property and companies should be able to turn a profit on what they create to a certain extent. Unfortunately as helius mentioned (and the relevant news article), pharma companies will try to find an edge any way they can, working their way around IP laws to cut a larger profit at the expense of the consumer.
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Genzyme is an Ameican company heaquartered in Cambridge Massachusetts USA.
It is owned by Sanofi S.A which is headquartered in Paris France.
Direct your complaints to the appropriate government. Non American and Non French can approach their local governments. However, expect your foreign governement to not do anything. The only thing that foreign governments CAN do is to pass regulations so restrict the markup on pharmaceuticals.
Also keep in mind that pharmaceutical companies have massive budgets for lobbying US government officials.
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They made the drug, they own the drug, they can ask for the drug what they like.
You didn't make it, you didn't invent it, you don't get to demand it be given to you for free.
What makes you think you, or anyone, is entitled to be given anything for free? Why is it that these pharma companies shouldn't be allowed to earn from their work like any other industry?
Companies can ask any price they want for their product, and you, the consumer, are not obligated to buy a thing.
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I remember one interview on german TV where a speaker of a pharma company openly admitted that most of tthe foreign product (e.g. out of China etc.) has the same active ingredient, meaning that tehre is absolutely no difference but a massive price difference :D
That guy got fired really fast xD
+ Show Spoiler [German Video] +
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EPT
