Opinion What is behind the insulin shortage in the US?

[Jack V Savage]

Keyword above "component".

Are politicians motivated by profit motive and 'free markets' as well? Would profit margin create the best politicians we've ever seen?

As I originally stated, there are some things that carry social value, such as healthcare or governance, that should not be subjected to a profit motive model.

Healthcare has seen great improvement as a result of the profit motive.

Politicians are not motivated by profits. If you could work it so they personally benefited more from good outcomes for the country, you'd probably be more likely to get good outcomes. The challenge is that the public doesn't agree on what outcomes they want, though they often say they do.

 

[Blayt7hh]

If I close my eyes and try to visualize it;
they are both FAT!!!!

Type 1 has nothing to do with life style. For some reason their bodies immune system attacks the cells that produce insulin. I don’t believe it’s known what causes it and it’s not correlated to weight or diet.

Those people undeniably deserve sympathy and access to cheap insulin.

 

[Blayt7hh]

List every major medical breakthrough and medication developed by a country that isn't driven by a free market economy, and pharmaceutical companies that operate with a profit margin.

I'll hold my breath.

Well literally insulin. Seriously, look it up. The guy who discovered and developed it sold the patent for $1 because he believed it should be cheap for the people who needed it.

Our countries patent laws are flat out fucked up.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Ozempic isn't even healthy for diabetics. Its just the risk of complications faced by obesity outweighs the side effects

- A guy that works with bodybuilders took Ozem, to know how a part of his clientele would feel using. He said he felt like trash for days.

 

[fedoriswar37]

- A guy that works with bodybuilders took Ozem, to know how a part of his clientele would feel using. He said he felt like trash for days.

My father inlaw takes it. Certainty not a fan but it's a risk he has to ( not literally) take.

 

[Madmick]

Well literally insulin. Seriously, look it up. The guy who discovered and developed it sold the patent for $1 because he believed it should be cheap for the people who needed it.

Our countries patent laws are flat out fucked up.

Yet again, Canada is an example of a country with a for-profit pharmaceutical sector. The University of Toronto also profited off the royalties (and future refined intellectual property) as part of its deal with Eli Lilly which was the first entity to mass produce it for distribution to the world.

 

[Osculater]

Type 1 has nothing to do with life style. For some reason their bodies immune system attacks the cells that produce insulin. I don’t believe it’s known what causes it and it’s not correlated to weight or diet.

Those people undeniably deserve sympathy and access to cheap insulin.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease

 

[Blayt7hh]

Yet again, Canada is an example of a country with a for-profit pharmaceutical sector. The University of Toronto also profited off the royalties (and future refined intellectual property) as part of its deal with Eli Lilly which was the first entity to mass produce it for distribution to the world.

You said a medication that was developed without for profit in mind. I provided a clear cut example of that.

People exploited it later

 

[Madmick]

You said a medication that was developed without for profit in mind. I provided a clear cut example of that.

People exploited it later

I did not. You're a careless reader.

List every major medical breakthrough and medication developed by a country that isn't driven by a free market economy, and pharmaceutical companies that operate with a profit margin.

I'll hold my breath.

 

[Scerpi]

We need better nutrition education

Fat is beautiful

 

[Andy Capp]

Maybe we can stop eating sugar on a level that requires more and more people to require insulin.
Diet, Exercise, IDFK?

Type 2 diabetes rarely requires insulin AFAIK. It's pretty much irrelevant to this story.

 

[Andy Capp]

Doesn't really refute his point. Turning scientific advances into desirable products is something that markets do well. The gov't and universities should continue to fund and conduct research, but we also need for-profit companies to make optimal use of it.

Why do you suppose governments are unable to participate in "the markets" in a similar manner and thereby work toward goals that make peoples' lives easier without pursuing outrageous profit over and above what would be required to sustain them? Are they simply too tied to partisan interests to do it effectively? Surely, there are at least some examples to the contrary, aren't there?

One example I can think of, though not related to pharmaceuticals, would be building rental housing.

 

[Scerpi]

Type 1 has nothing to do with life style. For some reason their bodies immune system attacks the cells that produce insulin. I don’t believe it’s known what causes it and it’s not correlated to weight or diet.

Those people undeniably deserve sympathy and access to cheap insulin.

There would be if there weren’t hoards of shit diet induced Type 2 diabetics consuming most of the insulin

Diabetes Quick Facts | Basics | Diabetes | CDC

Find an overview about diabetes, the different types, risk factors, and the impact it has on public health.

www.cdc.gov

90%+ of diabetics are Type 2

 

[Samjj]

Type 2 diabetes rarely requires insulin AFAIK. It's pretty much irrelevant to this story.

Is is often initiated at the time of diagnosis based on initial severity until the patient achieves appropriate glucose levels and are weened off. This happens frequently.
Hard to manage DK2 will also have chronic insulin therapy as well, although it is less preferable.

Also, inpatients are almost exclusively managed with insulin regardless if they are type1/2.

 

[Andy Capp]

Is is often initiated at the time of diagnosis based on initial severity until the patient achieves appropriate glucose levels and are weened off. This happens frequently.

OK, I'll take your word for it, but I strongly doubt the tightening supply is related to that in any case without empirical data to indicate that it is.

 

[Samjj]

OK, I'll take your word for it, but I strongly doubt the tightening supply is related to that in any case without empirical data to indicate that it is.

No I agree. I think it's an issue of priorities in a for-profit system that doesn't actually give a shit about sick people.

 

[Andy Capp]

No I agree. I think it's an issue of priorities in a for-profit system that doesn't actually give a shit about sick people.

In fact, I'd say the push to automatically give insulin to Type 2 people has as much to do with profit motive as anything else we're discussing, but I'm not a medical professional and that's just my lay opinion based upon the few people I've known with the condition. In all those cases careful constraints on diet was all that was necessary--well, that and other non-medicinal prescriptions like like getting exercise and having a consistent sleep/wake schedule.

 

[Samjj]

In fact, I'd say the push to automatically give insulin to Type 2 people has as much to do with profit motive as anything else we're discussing, but I'm not a medical professional and that's just my lay opinion based upon the few people I've known with the condition. In all those cases careful constraints on diet was all that was necessary--well, that and other non-medicinal prescriptions like like getting exercise and having a consistent sleep/wake schedule.

No, there are specific conditions (initial HBA1C above 10, symptomatic hyperglycemia, catabolism, fasting glucose about 250/300 depending on the source of the guidelines) but essentially initiating insulin therapy improves long-term outcomes and morbidity. Get 'em fixed quick, keep 'em healthy longer.

Obviously lifestyle interventions are the ideal solution but most people get type 2 because they don't manage that stuff well...

 

[Andy Capp]

No, there are specific conditions (initial HBA1C above 10, symptomatic hyperglycemia, catabolism, fasting glucose about 250/300 depending on the source of the guidelines) but essentially initiating insulin therapy improves long-term outcomes and morbidity. Get 'em fixed quick, keep 'em healthy longer.

Obviously lifestyle interventions are the ideal solution but most people get type 2 because they don't manage that stuff well...

Roger that. Thanks for the info.

 

[Jack V Savage]

Why do you suppose governments are unable to participate in "the markets" in a similar manner and thereby work toward goals that make peoples' lives easier without pursuing outrageous profit over and above what would be required to sustain them? Are they simply too tied to partisan interests to do it effectively? Surely, there are at least some examples to the contrary, aren't there?

One example I can think of, though not related to pharmaceuticals, would be building rental housing.

They just don't face the same evolutionary pressures. Again, it's not that they don't have a useful role to play. They can be more long-term-focused, they can pursue projects that don't have an obvious profitable end, they can do useful stuff that isn't profitable, etc. But when it comes to turning knowledge into products/services that people want, the profit motive is the best tool we have.