blatantninja t1_j60eiph wrote
Reply to comment by sickciety in TIL, since the 1970s, precision fermentation has been used to produce the majority of the world's insulin. Before that, it came from slaughtered cows and pigs. by oodaalolly_joy
I'm Pre-diabetic. My father is diabetic. My grandmother was diabetic. I am VERY familiar with diabetes.
Yes the industry had been turned into a monoply withe their GMO yeast and processes. No one is stopping anyone from making the older versions though. Would it be enough for the whole population? No. Any increase in supply and alternatives would help the overall price situation though. Its basic economics.
sickciety t1_j60h56y wrote
Maybe you should do it. Since it's so easy and your the first one to see a viable option to increase supply with waste products . Its not like there arent actual chemist, biologists and genetic engineers who also want to increase supply and provide a viable cheaper option who are actively sued or stopped from doing so . But we dont live in a free market . If it were a free market we would have 1$ insulin like india . You don't have to explain economics to me , im a libertarian and quite well understand we dont live in a perfect capitalist society . But I think human health and life are more important than Lilly's profit margin .
Honestly were just arguing over something neither of us could actually help to solve the issue.
My issue is with the patenting of life and the overpriced medication that is a lifeline for diabetics . When your life depends on a medication they can charge whatever they want and you will pay it . Thats not economics , thats not fair market pricing .... thats just sick!
blatantninja t1_j60z94s wrote
Of course neither of us are going to do it. Neither of us have the capital or expertise. That's irrelevant to the point of their existing other avenues.
> If it were a free market we would have 1$ insulin like india .
No we wouldn't. Insulin is cheaper (but it isn't $1) in India for several reasons, one of which is that the government purchases large amounts of it at bulk prices and gives it away for free. That's not even close to a free market.
>You don't have to explain economics to me , im a libertarian and quite well understand we dont live in a perfect capitalist society . But I think human health and life are more important than Lilly's profit margin .
Those two statements are a huge contradiction. No real libertarian would say that. A libertarian would say "let the market decide" and leave it at that.
Ultimately, your problem is that our healthcare system, top to bottom, is messed up, but a free market won't solve that.
sickciety t1_j61b5ll wrote
I disagree with you . But that's completely fine
Its been interesting debating back and forth with ya . Have a great night
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments