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A comment on How Parents Harnessed the Power of Social Media to Challenge EpiPen Prices. Parent comment

Re:How Parents Harnessed the Power of Social Media to Challe... by croon on Friday August 26, 2016 @04:20AM (#12364946)
You're framing it under a free market system. This is a monopoly where the "benefit it offers" is a persons life. In this scenario you could charge a $1M and any parent that can afford it would think the benefit outweighs the price.

The cost to market for the EpiPen was recouped long before Mylan even bought the company. This is just gouging. Believe me when I say that someone else will pop up as soon as possible (FDA approval takes a long time) with a product that costs a 5th as much, as long as Mylan doesn't manage to rig the system.

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Re:How Parents Harnessed the Power of Social Media to Challe... by refurb on Friday August 26, 2016 @08:28AM (#12365694)
The US pharmaceutical marketplace operates under a "free pricing" system. Companies are free to set their price to whatever they feel like. The only thing that limits the price is the response of the market.

I agree that it's a not a price vs. demand equation since demand won't drop off for a product like this since there aren't really any substitutes (other than the vial and syringe which has limitations). However, public response to a price is a very strong motivator for drug companies. I can guarantee you that Mylan's C-suite is in a frenzy right now trying to figure out how to fix this.

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