Way OT: Australian schoolboys synthesize the active ingredient in Daraprim.....

[Ten Thousan Marbles]

The man who sparked outrage last year by hiking the price of a life-saving drug may have met his match in some Australian schoolboys.

US executive Martin Shkreli became a symbol of greed when he raised the price of a tablet of Daraprim from $13.50 (£11) to $750.

Now, Sydney school students have recreated the drug's key ingredient for just $20.

Daraprim is an anti-parasitic drug used by malaria and Aids patients.

 

[sss]

The point of this is what?
A college chemistry student could make just about any drug on the market. In some cases, a high school kid could make the simpler ones. The cost of drugs doesn't come from the manufacture of them, it comes from the cost of discovering them (ie the science behind it). This is why generics are so cheap.

 

[Psychedelic_MackDaddy]

The point of this is what?
A college chemistry student could make just about any drug on the market. In some cases, a high school kid could make the simpler ones. The cost of drugs doesn't come from the manufacture of them, it comes from the cost of discovering them (ie the science behind it). This is why generics are so cheap.

And, I knew a few chemistry students that could synthesize some cool drugs, too.

 

[NittPicker]

Don't forget the cost of selling/marketing them and....the cost of...."just because we can".

It's mainly "just because". The price of Daraprim wasn't jacked up due to R&D costs. To sss, the drug has been available since the 1950s so the R&D argument is a red herring. It was pure and simple greed.

 

[sss]

It's mainly "just because". The price of Daraprim wasn't jacked up due to R&D costs. To sss, the drug has been available since the 1950s so the R&D argument is a red herring. It was pure and simple greed.

Not talking about this drug specifically. This guy and his company have done this a few times, and have been called out for it.

 

[dawgduice]

The point of this is what?
A college chemistry student could make just about any drug on the market. In some cases, a high school kid could make the simpler ones. The cost of drugs doesn't come from the manufacture of them, it comes from the cost of discovering them (ie the science behind it). This is why generics are so cheap.

Well, the COST of research is WAY WAY overblown. Then again "they" make the rules. How do I KNOW this, my relative is one of the top researchers in the world and has told me this for many many years !!! The REAL problem is that no-one has the honesty to fix things.