Today I Learned

The generic name for Revlimid is Lenalidomide.
"Since its initial approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2005 for the treatment of certain cancers, the price of Lenalidomide, manufactured by Celgene, has risen significantly. At its launch, the cost per pill was $218, equating to an annual cost of approximately $55,000 for a standard regimen. Following FDA approval for multiple myeloma in mid-2006, the price per pill increased to $280, or about $70,560 annually. As of 2023, the price per pill had reached $892.

Since its approval, Revlimid cost has increased 26 times. According to a deposition by a Celgene executive, marked as highly confidential, the manufacturing cost of each Revlimid pill has remained approximately $0.25 throughout this period. Celgene claimed its patent protected Revlimid until 2027, and has engaged in several practices to prevent other manufacturers from producing a generic version of the drug, including refusing to sell the drug to other drug makers for testing purposes." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenalidomide

Lenalidomide became available as a generic medicine in the Netherlands in 2022. The price in the Netherlands then dropped from €218 to €0.90 per pill. https://www.margriet.nl/gezondheid/kankermedicijn-revlimid-goedkoper-waarom~b43e1f4b/

The pharma industry likes to defend its pricing by saying:

The second pill cost 25¢.

The first pill cost $800 million.

What they never actually say is that the US government (thereby the taxpayers) heavily subsidized most of that cost.

Big Pharma could use its own Mario Brother, just saying.

Best selling? Or largest profit margin?

Fucking evil.

It’s almost like health care and free market economics aren’t compatible

Pharma profits are too high, but you can't really tell by that kind of comparison. The parent company (Bristol Myers Squibb) that produces Revlimid has profit margins around 30% which is high, but obviously nowhere near what those numbers suggest.

The difference is the cost of development of both successful drugs and drugs which go nowhere. So if the company made zero profit by reducing prices across the board, the price of Revlimid could come down to $666 per pill, still each costing 25 cents - that obviously still looks crazy!

I also hate the system (and I work in research, meaning that my work directly goes into the profits of these companies) however it does eventually lead to better drugs getting developed and through the years their prices do decrease steeply once the patent terminates.

I hope we came up with a better system to handle this.

I'd like a public European pharmaceutical company to exist, that would solve many of these problems.

Babe, wake up. Insulin 2 dropped.

The pharma industry might be the only industry that buys in tons and sell in milligram

This is America.

biologics(this includes cancer biologics, autoimmune,psoriasis, eczema, and some rare diseases) is where pharms make thier money. because they are most thousands a month, wholesale, insurance is very stingy about covering certain biologics. although some do have a "coupon" option.

This fucking disparity is why there's now a parallel industry revolving around equally questionable alternative treatments.

Bristol Myers Squibb also makes my cancer drug, Sprycel, which has a similar price tag at just over $18k a month without insurance.

They also make my mother's heart medication Eliquis, which is similarly costly as well.

Drugs can be massively expensive to make with some needing many decades of work so it makes sense they are sold for a lot to gain back that investment. The only issue is if they don't drop the price after they have recouped the cost and profit they needed. Capitalism strikes again.

Here it's provided for free by the public health system.

This is why we have antivaxxers.

Who can trust an industry that so blatantly exploits the sick and the dying?

Wonder what would happen if civilians gained the means to make some of this medication at home.