Jump to content

Big pharma and the ridiculous, sinful prices of psychiatric medication


NokturnalBoredom

Recommended Posts

On 10/25/2021 at 6:10 PM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Price of drugs in the USA has absolutely nothing to do with the cost of manufacturing pills, which can be anywhere from less than 1 cent to $1.45 per unit with the majority coming in toward the low end of that range. Big Pharma claims it costs a billion or two on average to develop, test and bring a new drug to market which is why they have to charge so much. But the real reason of course is your beloved unregulated free market capitalism. They charge what the market will bear and the uninsured are free to fuck off and die. Pharmecutical companies have a window of 20 years to develop and patent a drug and bring it to market where they can charge whatever the fuck they want until the patent expires at which time generic manufacturers can then start churning out the same drugs and sell them for pennies.

Pharmas can get a supplemental protection certificate in many countries which extends patent exclusivity for another 5 years or so. This is justified by the fact the drug doesn't normally hit the market (following approval) until 10 to 15 years after the patent application was filed. Also, a lot of drugs fail in the development phase. So, being a pharmaceutical company is an expensive business.

Even so, if I were god emperor I would nationalise all medical and drug research to the benefit of all. Governments can still own patents and licence these in other countries, while their own citizens are best served by the research. The concept of profiting from illness is the one of the most obscene practices dreamt up by mankind. It takes a long time to train as a doctor so by all means pay them a fair wage and consider them esteemed members of the community, but when a shareholder makes money from someone's misery...that is not cricket.

There is a lingering distrust that big pharma is really only interested in treating symptoms and not the cure. Because the cure is not profitable. This system also encourages keeping people as unhealthy as possible with the shit they eat. Eating well and exercising is directly analogous to being vaccinated against cancer. Its not 100% effective but substantially reduces risk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

Even so, if I were god emperor I would nationalise all medical and drug research to the benefit of all.

It doesn't make sense for drug and medical research to be privatized anyway. If you want to have a strong nation, a healthy country, then it makes sense that you would nationalize medical and drug research. Of course, having a strong and healthy nation is not what the American elites want, because they are bought and paid for by big pharma (among others). That's part of the reason why processed garbage food is subsidized instead of healthy, fresh food & why America is I think the only country on the earth where Pharma is allowed to advertise their products on television (Chris Rock had a great bit about this: "Are you sad? Are you lonely? Do you go to bed at night and wake up in the morning?").

Having said that, I feel pretty good on this new drug. I was worried at first that it would make me feel like crap at first, but I took the full 3mg dose last night and feel less aggressive, less manic, and less paranoid than I usually felt on the Abilify. I still don't think that this means that it's worth $1228.55/month though.

 

 

10 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

There is a lingering distrust that big pharma is really only interested in treating symptoms and not the cure. Because the cure is not profitable. This system also encourages keeping people as unhealthy as possible with the shit they eat. Eating well and exercising is directly analogous to being vaccinated against cancer. Its not 100% effective but substantially reduces risk.

100% true. They've been researching cures for HIV and cancer for forty years now and haven't been able to come up with any. Billions if not trillions of dollars in grants & charitable donations are made to these causes over the past four decades and they haven't even come close, yet somehow poor little Cuba who is consistently harassed by the American political elites, can completely eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV... figure that one out if you can.

I mean, the conspirator in me wants to believe that the industry is not interested at all in curing HIV since it only affects "undesirables" in society and that the antiretroviral cocktails make them a hell of a lot more money than a cure would since you have to stay on them the rest of your life. It's sort of like treating mental illness in my case: they can't cure it, but they can sure as hell tell me that I'm going to need to take expensive medications for the rest of my life which necessitate me having to purchase health insurance (which I guess is a good thing in case god forbid I caught COVID19 or got fucked up in a car accident or something). I'm just worried that since I am making more money now, that I'm going to lose my insurance come next year and then I'll be boned as far as getting my scripts go. Obamacare helped, it's true, because I didn't have health insurance before, but I have it now and Biden signing whatever thing he signed effectively reduced my premium to $0.00/month for a silver-tier plan although I do feel like a public option would have just been a better way to go. I'm a big supporter of Medicare for All because I am taxed to pay for Medicare and the elderly in Florida run to the doctor every time they sneeze, which I cannot do without paying a copay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, NokturnalBoredom said:

All I know is that I never caught Polio or Measles, Mumps, or Rubella; diseases I was vaccinated for as a child with vaccines that were much less "sophisticated" than the ones that are produced now.

Well that IS where herd immunity actually is a thing. The reason you didn't catch MMRP is twofold. 1. Such a large majority of people have been vaccinated against those that herd immunity has kicked in, the only ones that are really susceptible  are infants not yet vaccinated, and perhaps people coming from other countries where vaccination against MMRP isn't as common. This means that when there is a case of Mumps, so many are vaccinated that the virus can't really take hold and spread. This leads us to 2. The lack of viable hosts means that the viruses are almost extinct, also reducing the risk of you getting it by a lot.

 

If say only 75% of the population was vaccinated against MMRP, the risk of it spreading and gaining momentum is a lot higher, and so is the risk that even those vaccinated might get sick (because remember, no vaccine is 100% protection for 100% of the people) because of lack of herd immunity.

Which is where we're are with Covid. Add to that that there's large parts of the world where vaccination rates are below 50%, increasing the risk of mutations that will muck up the vaccine efficiency further.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Sheol said:

The reason you didn't catch MMRP is twofold. 1. Such a large majority of people have been vaccinated against those that herd immunity has kicked in, the only ones that are really susceptible  are infants not yet vaccinated, and perhaps people coming from other countries where vaccination against MMRP isn't as common. This means that when there is a case of Mumps, so many are vaccinated that the virus can't really take hold and spread. This leads us to 2. The lack of viable hosts means that the viruses are almost extinct, also reducing the risk of you getting it by a lot.

I'm not going to pretend that I understand how vaccines work all that well. I only took Biology I (the other science credits I have are Marine Science and The Living Ocean) because my school did not have a very good science department as it was only a college, not a university. I chose not to take student loans and continue on with higher education after my AA (and I'm glad I didn't, because my high school friend got a PhD in English and now works at a Starbucks in Indiana and has shitloads of inescapable debt and has to live with his parents while he pays it down as best he can... I dodged a bullet with that one).

See, when they opened COVID19 vaccines up for people my age, I was one of the first people in line because I thought that it would actually protect me against getting sick and dying but now the narrative is that it might protect me. The problem with COVID19 is that we cannot vaccinate our way out of it, it's going to become endemic and we're just going to have to learn to live with it. One of Biden's infectious disease people apparently just tweeted the other day that "Everyone is eventually going to get COVID19" but that not everyone may necessarily get very sick from it & I'm hoping that since I got the vaccine, that I'll be one of the asymptomatic people and will develop a natural immunity to it.

I'm interested in seeing if the Novavax product gets approved in America because I've heard that it has much better success rates than the mRNA vaccines in terms of actually protecting you, but I am not sure that even if it does, if it would be safe to get the Novavax product after already having two doses of the Pfizer one (the one I got).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Join Metal Forum

    joinus-home.jpg

  • Our picks

    • Whichever tier of thrash metal you consigned Sacred Reich back in the 80's/90's they still had their moments.  "Ignorance" & "Surf Nicaragura" did a great job of establishing the band, whereas "The American Way" just got a little to comfortable and accessible (the title track grates nowadays) for my ears.  A couple more records better left forgotten about and then nothing for twenty three years.  2019 alone has now seen three releases from Phil Rind and co.  A live EP, a split EP with Iron Reagan and now a full length.

      Notable addition to the ranks for the current throng of releases is former Machine Head sticksman, Dave McClean.  Love or hate Machine Head, McClean is a more than capable drummer and his presence here is felt from the off with the opening and title track kicking things off with some real gusto.  'Divide & Conquer' and 'Salvation' muddle along nicely, never quite reaching any quality that would make my balls tingle but comfortable enough.  The looming build to 'Manifest Reality' delivers a real punch when the song starts proper.  Frenzied riffs and drums with shots of lead work to hold the interest.


      There's a problem already though (I know, I am such a fucking mood hoover).  I don't like Phil's vocals.  I never had if I am being honest.  The aggression to them seems a little forced even when they are at their best on tracks like 'Manifest Reality'.  When he tries to sing it just feels weak though ('Salvation') and tracks lose real punch.  Give him a riffy number such as 'Killing Machine' and he is fine with the Reich engine (probably a poor choice of phrase) up in sixth gear.  For every thrashy riff there's a fair share of rock edged, local bar act rhythm aplenty too.

      Let's not poo-poo proceedings though, because overall I actually enjoy "Awakening".  It is stacked full of catchy riffs that are sticky on the old ears.  Whilst not as raw as perhaps the - brilliant - artwork suggests with its black and white, tattoo flash sheet style design it is enjoyable enough.  Yes, 'Death Valley' & 'Something to Believe' have no place here, saved only by Arnett and Radziwill's lead work but 'Revolution' is a fucking 80's thrash heyday throwback to the extent that if you turn the TV on during it you might catch a new episode of Cheers!

      3/5
      • Reputation Points

      • 10 replies
    • I
      • Reputation Points

      • 2 replies
    • https://www.metalforum.com/blogs/entry/52-vltimas-something-wicked-marches-in/
      • Reputation Points

      • 3 replies

    • https://www.metalforum.com/blogs/entry/48-candlemass-the-door-to-doom/
      • Reputation Points

      • 2 replies
    • Full length number 19 from overkill certainly makes a splash in the energy stakes, I mean there's some modern thrash bands that are a good two decades younger than Overkill who can only hope to achieve the levels of spunk that New Jersey's finest produce here.  That in itself is an achievement, for a band of Overkill's stature and reputation to be able to still sound relevant four decades into their career is no mean feat.  Even in the albums weaker moments it never gets redundant and the energy levels remain high.  There's a real sense of a band in a state of some renewed vigour, helped in no small part by the addition of Jason Bittner on drums.  The former Flotsam & Jetsam skinsman is nothing short of superb throughout "The Wings of War" and seems to have squeezed a little extra out of the rest of his peers.

      The album kicks of with a great build to opening track "Last Man Standing" and for the first 4 tracks of the album the Overkill crew stomp, bash and groove their way to a solid level of consistency.  The lead work is of particular note and Blitz sounds as sneery and scathing as ever.  The album is well produced and mixed too with all parts of the thrash machine audible as the five piece hammer away at your skull with the usual blend of chugging riffs and infectious anthems.  


      There are weak moments as mentioned but they are more a victim of how good the strong tracks are.  In it's own right "Distortion" is a solid enough - if not slightly varied a journey from the last offering - but it just doesn't stand up well against a "Bat Shit Crazy" or a "Head of a Pin".  As the album draws to a close you get the increasing impression that the last few tracks are rescued really by some great solos and stomping skin work which is a shame because trimming of a couple of tracks may have made this less obvious. 

      4/5
      • Reputation Points

      • 4 replies
×
×
  • Create New...