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Your Mistake Is Assuming Any Altruistic Motive On A Pharma Company's Part
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The reason, apparently, that Epi-Pens now cost $600 for two, out of reach of most of the allergic children who need them, is that the manufacturer can. That's it. There's pretty much no competition anymore, they have a monopoly, and they just jacked the price up from about $50 to $600 because they want to make more money. The company's press release pointed to coupons they issued to reduce costs for some people, but then said, "Given the unpredictable and life-threatening nature of anaphylaxis, nothing is more costly than failed or no treatment," which is another way of saying "we have you over a barrel, and if you want to live, you have to pay our ransom." There's nothing about the cost of manufacturing the drug and device that's gone up that radically, just the price. And monopoly is where the market fails. (Bergen Record)
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