Researchers Work Around Hepatitis Drug Patent

Several readers let us know about a pair of British researchers who found a workaround to patents covering drugs used to treat hepatitis C. The developers intend to produce a drug cheap enough to supply to people in the poorest parts of the world. The scientists found another way to bind a sugar to interferon, producing a drug they say should be as long-lasting and effective as those sold (at $14,000 for a year's supply) by patent holders Hoffman-La Roche and Schering Plough. Clinical trials could begin by 2008. The article quotes developer Sunil Shaunak of Imperial College London: "We in academic medicine can either choose to use our ideas to make large sums of money for small numbers of people, or to look outwards to the global community and make affordable medicines."

Comments

$1,000 per capsule.

[pair-a-noyd]

Some years back my landlord told me that his dad (who was near 100 years old and living in a nursing home) was on a special medicine that was kept under lock and key and that the he kept the key.
The pills were locked up at the nursing home but he took the only key to the cabinet home with him.
He had to drive up there each day, unlock the cabinet and administer a single pill to his dad under the supervision of the head nurse. Each pill was $1,000 and his dad had to take one every single day of his life or he would die. I don't remember the name of the medication or what it was for but damn, $1,000 per day to stay alive?!! That's insane! Of course it was being covered by insurance as mere mortals couldn't have afforded that much money, the old man had been a big shot at a refinery in his day and had retired with super great benefits and insurance.

I would bet money on it that the pills were really only worth about $10 each at best but the vampire profiteers were sucking the life blood out of every living thing within 2 miles of that nursing home and the old mans insurance company.

I can't imagine in my wildest dreams what you could ever put into one little capsule that would be worth $1,000. Even gold dust isn't worth that much money. Perhaps some diamonds??

One thing that PISSES me off is profiteering drug company vampires.
The greedy things they do should be outlawed.