Kaléo reveals the price of its Epipen alternative: $4,500 - Polidicks

[IMG]https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/auvi-q-auto-injector-31-HR-800x1018.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE]In an announcement Thursday, the company revealed that Auvi-Q will have a $4,500 list price for a two-pack and will be available February 14 for anyone who wants to buy one. Auvi-Qs were initially introduced in 2013 but were pulled from the market following dosage issues. The devices are slim and rectangular, easy to slip into pockets, and provide a voice-prompt system to guide through a life-saving epinephrine injection. At the time of their initial release, Auvi-Qs were listed at around $200 for a two-pack. By early 2015, when they were pulled, that price had floated up to $500, largely in step with Mylan’s pricing. The company also makes a device for injecting a cheap, older drug called naloxone, which reverses deadly opioid overdoses. As the country has suffered from an epidemic of opioid abuse and overdoses during the last two years, Kaléo raised the price of its device, called Evzio, from $575 to $3,750.[/QUOTE] But remember guys, it's okay, because only insurance companies will pay this price, and the money will be used for research to make better products: [QUOTE]For Auvi-Q, the company assures that most patients won’t pay the $4,500 out of pocket. Either the device will be covered by their insurance or the company will offer it for free to those who have no insurance whatsoever and have a household income of less than $100,000.[/QUOTE] [url]http://arstechnica.com/science/2017/01/another-alternative-to-mylans-600-epipen-this-ones-4500/[/url]

Sounds good to me. But people are still going to overreact and produce clickbait articles with this because of stupidity. Kinda like the Martin Shkreli thing.

medicine prices in the us still baffle me. my sister pays like 30-40$ for her epipen without insurance

I should start smuggling epipens from sweden and make a fortune

[QUOTE=_Chewgum;51704089]I should start smuggling epipens from sweden and make a fortune[/QUOTE] Hit me up if you start. I got a bitch of a shellfish allergy and can't afford the pens.

These seem like a smart alternative.. I have to either take a bag everywhere I go, or go without at risk because of the size of the epipens I have. Never had to use one, but I also never go to a place where the risk is heightened by negligence (I generally order similar dishes no matter where I go). Feels like I have to play 20 questions whenever I eat out, and can be a bitch when I'm invited somewhere that has catering.

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;51704031]But remember guys, it's okay, because only insurance companies will pay this price, and the money will be used for research to make better products[/QUOTE] Ty Martin I really believe it.

so other than the design and the voice prompt stuff, what's the difference between this and the $110 CVS one announced last week?

[QUOTE=ZpankR;51704059]Sounds good to me. But people are still going to overreact and produce clickbait articles with this because of stupidity. Kinda like the Martin Shkreli thing.[/QUOTE] Psst. When pharmaceutical companies do this, guess what happens? [I]Insurance policy costs go up[/I]. It's not stupidity, they're charging whatever the fuck they want for a medicine that people definitely do need. Society still pays the added cost of the pharmaceutical, it's just distributed among a larger part of the population, the company that manufactures the drug still gets a big fat paycheck out of all of you. Drug costs are completely out of whack in the US.

[QUOTE=ZpankR;51704059]Sounds good to me. But people are still going to overreact and produce clickbait articles with this because of stupidity. Kinda like the Martin Shkreli thing.[/QUOTE] "but it's free for you silly poors :~~~)" isn't really fixing any of the problems with predatory pricing. Due to how the ACA functions (well, however long that will last is now up in the air) they are going to be "giving away" few units, as everyone is required to get some form of insurance plan or face a fee after all. At most 11% of the USA is uninsured, the lowest it's been for a while; [url]http://www.gallup.com/poll/190484/uninsured-rate-lowest-eight-year-trend.aspx[/url] Instead insurance companies are now going to be charged an extortionate amount of money should they opt to actually offer this product as something they cover. Meaning healthcare costs go up in general. Bumping premiums up even more to cover the "losses". Predatory pricing doesn't fix anything, and the guys doing it are doing it for nothing more than making more money from an exploitable system. Nobody wins but the company selling the product in the end.

[QUOTE=DOG-GY;51704142]Ty Martin I really believe it.[/QUOTE] No problem, I'm in the lab developing new drugs as we speak.

think i'll just stab myself with a needle full of L-Tyrosine and hope that it'll convert fast enough into norepinephrine i mean that's the ghetto way of doing it

This doesn't seem better to me at all lol. I'll go for the CVS alternative thanks.

Health care costs rise for everyone thanks to these kinds of products and the actions of companies like Turing

So if your household makes over $100,000 a year (not a lot) you have to pay the $4,500? lol

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;51705023]Health care costs rise for everyone thanks to these kinds of products and the actions of companies like Turing[/QUOTE] partly yes and partly no, the blame cannot be solely placed at the feet of pharmaceutical corporations like turing. the responsibility is patchwork-like, spread between insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, doctors etc.

[QUOTE=_Chewgum;51704089]I should start smuggling epipens from sweden and make a fortune[/QUOTE] I'm ready to start up a deep south suppy chain for you if you can/do. Vital shit like this shouldn't be maid so fuckin expensive regardless of circumstances.

[QUOTE=PrusseLusken;51705263]if you don't have insurance and make over 100k you are kinda mismanaging tbh?[/QUOTE] Considering trump's working on reversing the ACA, I suspect it will be possible for US health insurance to refuse coverage due to pre-existing conditions (iinm) again.

[QUOTE=Toyhobo;51704068]medicine prices in the us still baffle me. my sister pays like 30-40$ for her epipen without insurance[/QUOTE] Because we're nothing but profit to these companies. They price it high enough to cripple us financially (for their benefit), but low enough that we can technically afford it (because it's better than dying).

[QUOTE=PrusseLusken;51705263]if you don't have insurance and make over 100k you are kinda mismanaging tbh?[/QUOTE] depends, 100K isnt a lot in many places when you have multiple kids and a house it seems to me that these guys fell far from the mark, not only does this thing have an entirely pointless and expensive audio system, which generates tons of ewaste, affordability did not seem to ever be a consideration when they made this thing

[QUOTE=Big Bang;51704181]Psst. When pharmaceutical companies do this, guess what happens? [I]Insurance policy costs go up[/I]. It's not stupidity, they're charging whatever the fuck they want for a medicine that people definitely do need. Society still pays the added cost of the pharmaceutical, it's just distributed among a larger part of the population, the company that manufactures the drug still gets a big fat paycheck out of all of you. Drug costs are completely out of whack in the US.[/QUOTE] It's amazing that people don't get this. Another thing that's ridiculous about the healthcare system is how a LOT of things are priced arbitrarily. Example: We had a local clinic where my mom had to have transfusions. Before they were bought out by the local Presbyterian hospital, the transfusions cost her around $4500. 2 months after they were bought out by PB? $35,000 a transfusion. And on top of that, they "could no longer afford to dilute the steroid they were transfusing her with" so she had to take it straight, all at once, which caused her a fair amount of agony (said it burned like a motherfucker). Seriously, how can you not afford to dilute something?

[QUOTE=Toyhobo;51704068]medicine prices in the us still baffle me. my sister pays like 30-40$ for her epipen without insurance[/QUOTE] Dude, you can buy a pack of syringes for a couple dollars, and a vial of Marcaine cost about $4 to make. An entire vial. Yet a single shot of it into my gum by a doctor cost me $600

[QUOTE=ilikecorn;51704166]In all honesty try to get your doctor to prescribe epi in the vial, and get him to prescribe a single syringe and needle. Then fill the syringe, and carry it in like a travel toothbrush container. That's what my sister's been doing for the past 8 months, because a vial of epi is like 5$.[/QUOTE] That's brilliant. I see him again soon, I'll ask. Thanks fam

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;51704217]No problem, I'm in the lab developing new drugs as we speak.[/QUOTE] be sure to mention my name when it comes to human trials on the fun ones

[QUOTE=DOG-GY;51706143]be sure to mention my name when it comes to human trials on the fun ones[/QUOTE] Sorry, we don't use dogs for testing. Especially human testing.

[QUOTE=ilikecorn;51704166]In all honesty try to get your doctor to prescribe epi in the vial, and get him to prescribe a single syringe and needle. Then fill the syringe, and carry it in like a travel toothbrush container. That's what my sister's been doing for the past 8 months, because a vial of epi is like 5$.[/QUOTE] Then the question becomes whether it is stable once out of the vial, and whether it remains sterile once drawn into a syringe and won't give you a deep-seated infection when it has to be used.

[QUOTE=Toyhobo;51704068]medicine prices in the us still baffle me. my sister pays like 30-40$ for her epipen without insurance[/QUOTE] ~invisible hand~ ~free market~ Jk lol, it's actually because of this: [QUOTE=Big Bang;51704181]Psst. When pharmaceutical companies do this, guess what happens? [I]Insurance policy costs go up[/I]. It's not stupidity, they're charging whatever the fuck they want for a medicine that people definitely do need. Society still pays the added cost of the pharmaceutical, it's just distributed among a larger part of the population, the company that manufactures the drug still gets a big fat paycheck out of all of you. Drug costs are completely out of whack in the US.[/QUOTE] And it's completely legal. Don't you just [i]love[/i] American capitalism? "Here's a great idea: let's run everything in this country like it's a business! We'll prioritize profits more than human life and emphasize quantity over quality to maximize our profits! It's brilliant!" And god help you if you need to call an ambulance but aren't well-off and don't have good insurance; it can easily cost you more than $1,500 for a 15-minute ride. [url]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/05/health/think-the-er-was-expensive-look-at-the-ambulance-bill.html[/url] This country sucks in a lot of different ways. Healthcare is no exception. With all the anger that's been kicked up in this country about Trump and his administration taking office, I hope we'll see a new revolution of social, political, and economic change, but I'm not holding my breath. Until that happens, Europe remains the bastion of sensibility for the West. It's a shame too, because there's no shortage of money or resources here in the United States. We could fix this shitty system of things if we wanted to... but a lot of people don't want to, so here we are.

Basically supply and demand doesn't work with healthcare, because the demand can be close to infinite in a way it simply isn't when a new iPhone is launched. That means prices can go up, up and up - and what are people going to do? Say, yeah $10000 is too much to save my life?

I had an Auvi-Q, it got recalled because their injector sucked. Hope they fixed that.

[QUOTE=FlakTheMighty;51709144]I had an Auvi-Q, it got recalled because their injector sucked. Hope they fixed that.[/QUOTE] I was about to say something about that, the injector has guided instructions, but the actual injection was giving like 1/3 of the dose because of a mess up in engineering. This looks like the exact same mechanics, so I hope they worked that kink out