The REAL COST Of An Epi-Pen

[dales]

Yes, I realize it is a small image. The long and short of it is the real cost is around $8.

[oldr_n_wsr]

For engineers not to include the R&D costs to develop the epi-pen (mechanical parts and such) makes me skeptical of their methods.
Not that R&D costs spread out on a per pen basis would boost the cost to $600, but they should have included it. Also R&D of the serum should be listed as a separate item with the active ingredient cost.
And it would be advantageous to know the volume they used to get the costs of the parts. 50 pieces of a widget cost much more per piece than 50,000 pieces of the widget.
maybe if they identified the "Industry Standard" they used for the cost estimate these questions would be answered. There are more than one "Industry Standards" for estimating costs of things.

[BoSoxGal]

I believe the epipen was one of the many great treatments developed at taxpayer expense by the NIH, and not in fact by private R&D resources - hence the greater reprehensibility of the giant price gouge.

[rubato]

Capitalism, its not just our economic system, its our religion.


AUUUUMMONEYGIVEMEMORE


Just as an aside, how is it that the hardshell religious right worships an economic/social system based on reverence for one of the seven deadly sins?


yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

I believe the epipen was one of the many great treatments developed at taxpayer expense by the NIH, and not in fact by private R&D resources - hence the greater reprehensibility of the giant price gouge.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-hist ... ine-2016-8

The strange history of the EpiPen, the device developed by the military that turned into a billion-dollar business

Lydia Ramsey

Aug. 27, 2016, 3:01 PM 123,818 2


The EpiPen is the latest drug facing drug-pricing pressure.

But it wasn't always this way.

The injectable delivers a dose of epinephrine, otherwise known as adrenaline, to treat extreme allergic reactions.

It's been around for more than a century. And the pen that delivers the medication has been around since the 1970s, when it was first developed for the military.

Since 2007, the price for a two-pack has gone up from $93.88 to $608.61, an increase of more than 500%.

Here's the story of how a device that's now a household name became one of the most controversial drugs of 2016.

So Mylan's "R&D costs" are ziparillo, nada, zilch, nothing, &c Like evidence for "massive voter fraud" it is a vast absence an empty set, nugatory.


yrs,
rubato

[Big RR]

If people really wanted to hit Myelin back, they'd stop buying epipens and buy syringes and epinephrine in a bottle for administration--it might not be as convenient, but it works just as well. Once that happened you'd see the price of the epipens plummet. From what I read, insurance companies did the same thing with insulin pens--refusing to cover them until the price dropped to a reasonable level.

[Econoline]

The thing about an EpiPen is that it's something that a non-professional can use correctly even in a state of panic in a real life-or-death situation. I got this explanation from another site:

• "Epinephrine can be administered in a variety of ways, it doesn't have to be injected via EpiPen. However unlike Insulin it's an intramuscular injection and not an intravenous one. Injecting epinephrine into a vein might very well kill you; it will certainly give you a heart attack. Which is why non-EpiPen injections should only be done by trained medical experts."

Again, this injection is something that may have to be done in a hurry in order to stop a potentially FATAL anaphylactic reaction. That's why the EpiPen was developed, and why it is the standard for emergency use.

BTW, the EpiPen was developed by Merck Pharmaceuticals from the Mark I NAAK ComboPen, which was designed by the US government during the Cold War specifically to help military people survive a nerve agent attack. (NAAK stands for “Nerve Agent Antidote Kit”.)

[Big RR]

I understand that econo, but people can easily be trained to give IM injections; it worked for decades in the past. In a panic situation it might be tough for a layman to do (although people close to someone with that severe an allergy can be trained), but for a school nurse (a highly educated RN) it should be simple. So keep the epipen in your purse or pocket for emergency use outside of school, but there is no reason to people to have to buy additional pens for keeping at the schools (and lobbying to get schools to require the pen was one part of Myelin's marketing plan).

BTW, insulin is not injected intravenously, it is injected subcutaneously; intravenous injection of insulin would not be good.

[Crackpot]

However pens do have an expiration date which ensures (al least it should) a regular turnover for pens should they be needed or not. A hearty price for "Just in case"

[Bicycle Bill]

Breaking down the "cost" of something to merely the value of the materials used to construct it is fun!!  By that same line of logic an iPhone should only cost about $25, and the price of a brand new Ferrari should be the same as a few hundred pounds of scrap metal, recycled plastic and glass, and a couple of cowhides (for the leather seats).

But it's not, because the intrinsic value of the finished product is greater than the sum of its parts.

-"BB"-

[dales]

But it's not, because the intrinsic value of the finished product is greater than the sum of its parts.

Yeah, at least $800.00 for a twin pack!

[Big RR]

Well they have to recoup their marketing costs--lobbying school boards takes a lot of time and money.

[No Greater Fool]

...and overhead...great big Overhead