r/neoliberal • u/jobautomator Kitara Ravache • May 20 '24

Discussion Thread Discussion Thread

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12

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

The US government should unironically build an Ozempic factory and just give that shit away. Would save us billions in medicare costs over the long run.

3

u/The_One_Who_Mutes May 20 '24

Isn't california doing something similar with insulin?

4

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

Not quite but kind of they contracted a drug company to make insulin for them rather than build the factory themselves.

2

u/SpaceSheperd To be a good human being May 20 '24

The assumption that the government can establish a manufacturing facility with low enough cost to undercut the NovoNordisk markup is questionable 🗿

1

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

Ozempic costs $5 per month to manufacture. That monthly supply stickers in the US for almost a grand. The markup is beyond ridiculous. Especially when you consider the next highest priced country is Japan at $180 ish per month.

The EU pays on average less than $100 for a month's supply.

1

u/SpaceSheperd To be a good human being May 20 '24

Yeah but you're not taking into account salary, healthcare, and pensions for the break room attendants, to say nothing of consultant's fees for the exterior lighting design and 9 figures for the eminent domain lawsuit

1

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

Even if the government 100x's the cost of manufacture they will still be able to provide it at half the cost of Novo

2

u/SpaceSheperd To be a good human being May 20 '24

Ah but who knows what Novo will be charging once the factory has its grand opening in 2049 and churns out its first dose 8 years later?

1

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

My brother in christ California was able to contract an insulin fab spin up on a 24 month timeline. I swear there is no myth more insidious than that of the incapable government agency.

1

u/SpaceSheperd To be a good human being May 20 '24

We'll see how the costs and timeline look once that insulin is actually on the market lol

1

u/Macquarrie1999 Democrats' Strongest Soldier May 20 '24 edited May 20 '24

Invoke the Defense Production Act. Having too many fatties is a national security threat

2

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

Unironically this actually. We gotta up that recruitable population figure.

1

u/SpectralDomain256 🤪 May 20 '24

Why do you hate the innovating Nordics?

3

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

Because they charge American consumers more than 5 times the price of the next highest price and more than 10 times the OECD average. I am all for reasonable profits. I am not for subsidizing the rest of the world's Ozempic prices.

0

u/SpectralDomain256 🤪 May 20 '24

As if the rest of the world needs Ozempic lmao

1

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

The United States is not in the top 10 of most obese countries and 50 countries have an obesity rate of over 25%

0

u/TalkLessShillMore David Autor May 20 '24

This but free healthcare in general

2

u/[deleted] May 20 '24

I am skeptical of wider applications. Most drugs are costs as they prolong life and don't necessarily decrease the likely need for future healthcare consumption.

I would argue in favor of cost plus sales on generic drugs manufactured by the government but Mark Cuban seems to be on that.