Another case of Pharma gouging

[n2doc]

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - In the midst of what some call a heroin epidemic, the cost of Naloxone, a life-saving antidote, is skyrocketing.

About four times every day, Indianapolis first responders rely on Naloxone (also known as Narcan, which is the brand name) to save the lives of men and women over dosing on heroin.

With heroin abuse growing exponentially in Indianapolis and other major cities, the price of Naloxone, also so know as Narcan, quadrupled in just two years.



more
http://www.wthr.com/article/narcan-cost-skyrockets-as-use-explodes

[bluedye33139]

1. And it makes me wonder if the pharmaceutical companies are colluding on price

Because there are several other manufacturers with these overdose preventing products, and they are all aiming at a $150 price tag more or less. Far more than the cost of the drug itself, and I seriously doubt that they are spending billions on Advertising.

As I try to come up with the reason why they would charge so damn much, my first guess would be that they would need to accumulate money for legal reasons. A product such as naloxone could expose the manufacturer to enormous lawsuits in cases of death but who knows?

[pnwmom]

4. They set the price based on "what the market will bear." So if the market shows that people

are willing to pay xx, then they usually charge xx, or only slightly undercut it.

[rocktivity]

2. And now for something completely...coincidental?

YourHHRS News:

According to the stte Attorney General’s office…the heroin antidote Narcan/Naloxone has saved 361 lives in New Jersey. 477 law enforcement agencies have been trained in administering it, and 444 agencies carry it on patrol. (But)…the first round of kits cost $53. The second round shot up to $93 per kit...Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli says(,) “I assure you if the price of gasoline when from $2.70 to $6, the government would look into it.”

...(T)he president of the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey Sean Dalton says, “…New Jersey law enforcement appears to be a victim...The manufacturer’s decision to increase the cost of this drug by 120 percent when people’s lives are at stake is reprehensible. There appears to be no reason for this increase other than a blatant opportunity to increase their profits...”

rocktivity

[jtuck004]

3. This is war on the American people, and there are solutions.

http://buzzbrown.blogspot.com/2009/04/history-matters-montgomery-ward.html

In the 1944 photo, Montgomery Ward Chairman Sewell Avery was sitting in his wood executive’s chair on a street in downtown Chicago while being held by two members of what I believe to be the Illinois National Guard; complete with uniforms and helmets. ...

There is something to be said for making the enemies of the people public, especially when they look and sound like you.

[Calculating]

5. Absolutely a case of collusion

The pharma companies know that the American people are a captive audience. We cannot get cheaper products from overseas so they can charge whatever they feel like. Pay everything you have or die! The new slogan of big pharma.