In Case You Missed This... WTF ???

[WillyT]

Price of Preventing Premature Births Skyrockets
KV Pharma Gains Sole Rights to Drug, Ups Price by 10K Percent
BY COURTNEY HUTCHISON, ABC NEWS MEDICAL UNIT
March 10, 2011

<snip>

Preventing preterm births just got 150 times more expensive, now that KV Pharmaceuticals has gained exclusive rights to produce a progesterone shot used to prevent premature births in high-risk mothers.

Although the shot has been available in unregulated form from specialty compounding pharmacies for years for $10 a pop, the Food and Drug Administration recently granted KV Pharmaceuticals sole rights to produce the drug, which will be marketed as Makena and cost $1,500 per dose -- an estimated $30,000 in total per pregnancy.

"Progesterone is so cheap to make and we never had a problem with the compounding pharmacies making it. There's probably some variation between pharmacies, which nobody likes, but nobody likes $1,500 a shot either. That seems like highway robbery," says Dr. Jacques Moritz, director of gynecology at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York.

Though KV Pharmaceuticals plans to offer financial assistance to low-come households in need of the drug, how private health insurance companies and Medicaid will respond to this price spike remains to be seen, leaving many doctors fearing that access to this treatment will become severely limited or interrupted for those currently mid-treatment.

And because FDA laws prohibit compounding pharmacies from making FDA-approved products, doctors will be legally obligated to stop using the cheaper version of this drug, a representative for the company told ABC News.

<snip>

More: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WomensHealth/price-preventing-premature-births-skyrockets-drug/story?id=13104588

:wtf:

[virgogal]

1. Gee,do you think we are being manipulated? Makes me want to gag.

[midnight]

7. Yes.. I would like a seat at the table to voice my dissatisfaction...

[Mimosa]

2. Our government could have challenged this.

Look it up.

[Bjorn Against]

3. This is the effect of Citizen's United

[Toucano]

6. The FDA is part of Health and Human Services.

The head of the FDA is appointed by the president and reports to the the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

This is another Obama failure to represent the people, regardless of Citizens United.

[Bjorn Against]

8. I recognize that and I mostly agree...

Make no mistake about it though if it were not for corporate money this kind of thing would never happen, Obama would put a stop to this if the corporations did not have such deep pockets. In fact no politician would ever allow something like this that is going to be extremely unpopular with the vast majority of the people unless they had an incentive for doing so, this is all about the corporate money that flows into our system.

[Toucano]

11. That assessment is mostly correct. But you're not acknowledging the power

the executive branch has (had) to go after that corporate money. Instead:

• The architects of the Wall Street meltdown were put in charge
• Geitner made sure AIG paid 100% on the disastrous derivatives debacle
• Bush tax cuts got extended
• No prosecutions or investigations of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for violating RICO and election laws
• No prosecutions of Wall Street executives for fraud

It's like if Superman went around handing out kryptonite the way Obama has allowed the corporate money-noose to tighten.

Rove/Cheney put Martha Stewart in JAIL for the equivalent of jaywalking, but Obama can't seem to find any muscles to flex because he's focused on the "tone in Washington", reacting to the rabid ramblings of Beck, Hannity, et al and chasing the glorious, gooey "center".

[MadMaddie]

4. This is exactly what is wrong with Pharmaceuticals and

This is a scam

[Newest Reality]

5. Let nothing stand in the way of profit!

NOTHING! Not happiness, health, security, justice, seniors, children, or any life, human or animal, at all.

Profit is now highest on the altar and nothing stands above it. It is now so enthroned in the scheme of priorities that millions and millions will suffer in many ways and die because of it. It may also assure our demise, or more likely, extinction as a species and most of the others sharing the planet with us.

It seems that those who have the lion's share of this thing called profit enjoy more power and influence than some Kings once did. However, controlling people and deciding their fates does not seem to be quite enough. The power seems to be complete when they can truly make those beneath them suffer.

And suffer we do and will.

[bigmonkey]

13. You know, it's not a religious perspective really.

I think it's the frame is the belief that the profit motive is natural, that there's therefore nothing to be done about it. Regulating the corporations, taxing the rich, is seen, consequently, as perverse and selfish, going against nature. Frankly, I think there's plenty of people on the left who unconsciously or consciously hold to this. Indoctrination into this belief is part of economic education. Obama's advisors surely believe that the profit motive is a natural force.

Myself, I think the notion of the profit motive being a force of nature is the error at the bottom of economics that's killing us all. It's close enough, though, that nowadays propaganda can be paid for to temporarily cover up the obvious negative consequences.

Humans should be in charge of human civilization, they shouldn't have to adapt to the paid-for calculations of interested parties.

[NashVegas]

9. Bet They're Salivating In States That Want Women & Doctors to Report All Miscarriages to Authorities

https://www.examiner.com/democrat-in-national/abortion-debate-rep-bobby-franklin-s-bill-makes-miscarriage-state-concern

I'd love to know who Bobby Franklin's political donors are ....

[napi21]

10. Why can't we contat the FDA and ask that THEY go through DOJ

to file a claim against this co? I wish I was a lawyer so I coud know what law has been broen, but I'm not. I'm positive this isn't legal. Not if that Co. has exclusivity.

[themadstork]

12. Our IP culture is ass. A reflection of our libertarian-ish obsession with private property. nt

[chill_wind]

14. This is evil. n/t

[WillyT]

15. One Last...

:kick:

[Capitalocracy]

16. K&R for visibility.

This is an important story. Shameless.