Gene therapy is here - if you have $500,000

[IGotWorms 3,302]

 

It typically costs in the hundreds of millions to develop a new cancer drug.

 

I work in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, and I know it costs alot to manufacture these types of drugs. Materials, equipment, components - everything costs a sh!tload of $$ because of the stringent technical requirements, documentation, and regulations.

 

These new gene therapies are probably even more costly to manufacture than typical biotech drugs because of the technological hurdles. They use viruses to deliver the genes to the patients cells. In typical biopharmaceutical manufacturing, viruses are the enemy, and must be filtered out of the final product. The trick with gene therapies is to be able to filter out the unwanted viruses while letting the right ones through.

 

Is $475K too much for this drug? Probably, but one resource that I read thought it would be higher. Do pharma companies make obscene profits by pushing their products? Yeah. Do they need to make huge profits to re-invest in research? Yeah. Does my CEO need to make a $25M bonus every year? Hell, no.

The CEO bonus thing is a lightening rod because the numbers are obscene. But really a $25 million bonus adds very little cost when spread out over all sales.

 

The reason he gets a $25 million bonus? Because the shareholders are making an obscene profit -- each and every one of them. THAT'S where the real excess is

[penultimatestraw 473]

Same thing with surgeons, doctors and anesthesiologists. They are just as bad if not worse.

They are bad, but their pay is primarily determined by third party insurers. No doctor sniffs $ anywhere near that of pharmaceutical executives. Hell, pharm reps can make nearly as much as primary care providers. Who do you think is more important in the grand scheme of healthcare?

[Mike Honcho 4,010]

I didn't even know him and Shannon Tweed were having problems.