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0 pointstryingagainbro8y ago0 comments

The difference in pricing is STAGGERING. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/New-Hepatitis-C-dru...

The blockbuster hepatitis C drug will cost about $900 (around Rs 54,000) in India for a 12-week course of treatment. That would be a fraction of the $84,000 (over Rs 50 lakh) price tag for the same treatment in US.

I'm sure that they wouldn't be that profitable if USA paid $900 for that drug, especially the first few years.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/04/business/sales-of-sovaldi... 140,000 patients in USA and going to 250,000

0 comments

tertius8y ago

Drugs are cheapest in India. Let's normalize. I.e. far end of the pricing bell curve.

But the answer is still, yes, there is profitability. Just not as much as with the hyper inflated prices in the US.

In short: Does the extreme cost for drugs in the US cause groundbreaking research to benefit the whole world?

No, same results could be had with way less profit. Money to fund moonshot research is still important though.

pkaye8y ago

Given the lower labor costs and people consider drugs to be so profitable, I don't know why other countries don't do as much research and drug development. Just a few countries carry the lion share of this effort.

refurb8y ago

That would be my response. If someone else can improve R&D and lower the cost of drugs, they are more than welcome to. Interestingly, I haven't seen any takers.

1 more reply

tertius8y ago

Drug development is expensive.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointstryingagainbro8y ago0 comments

The difference in pricing is STAGGERING. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/New-Hepatitis-C-dru...

I'm sure that they wouldn't be that profitable if USA paid $900 for that drug, especially the first few years.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/04/business/sales-of-sovaldi... 140,000 patients in USA and going to 250,000

0 comments

tertius8y ago

Drugs are cheapest in India. Let's normalize. I.e. far end of the pricing bell curve.

But the answer is still, yes, there is profitability. Just not as much as with the hyper inflated prices in the US.

In short: Does the extreme cost for drugs in the US cause groundbreaking research to benefit the whole world?

No, same results could be had with way less profit. Money to fund moonshot research is still important though.

pkaye8y ago

refurb8y ago

That would be my response. If someone else can improve R&D and lower the cost of drugs, they are more than welcome to. Interestingly, I haven't seen any takers.

1 more reply

tertius8y ago

Drug development is expensive.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse