Comment by Someone1234 2 months ago
It feels very conspiratorial to suggest multinational pharmaceutical companies are creating low quality versions of their own branded drugs in Europe.
We know that these drugs cost roughly $10/dose to produce, and most of that is the auto-injector pens. Hardly seems worth ruining their reputation and getting punished be regulators to save a few dollars on something with a 600-6000% markup.
yes, most of the costs are A) development and B) relatively fixed costs of maintaining the manufacturing staff and infrastructure.
The marginal cost of an additional batch is relatively small in comparison.
Developing a cheaper to produce product, even if that was done off-book and you could keep it secret, would need some level of different production methods (different ingredients, different machines or something which makes it cheaper) and some amount of testing which just selling the original product doesn't require.
I think these calculations are wildly optimistic. As far as I can tell, they basically ignore the cost of development, labor, quality assurance, and regulatory.
It is like estimating the cost of a rocket based on the price of metal.
I think you've lost sight of what the discussion was about.
The person above was claiming they were using substandard versions of their medication in non-US markets where the retail cost is lower. I was pointing out that the manufacturing cost is so low, that doesn't make sense.
Your point now has nothing to do with the discussion being had.
Wait until I tell you about the bootleg version I get get from China for $9 for 5mg bottle of Semaglutide. It lasts a month for me and works great. You have to mix it with Bac water yourself so there's a little prep and there isn't a plastic infector. Have to inject yourself with a syringe. These are 3rd party tested so there is some level of safety involved.
> We know that these drugs cost roughly $10/dose to produce…
Can you link the source?
If it really is a 600% to 6000% markup then it does seem unlikely they would try to save a few dollars.