SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Doctors are concerned that stocks of anti-venom are running low around the world.
Dr. Richard Clark from UC San Diego Health is an expert in treating snake bite victims. He said, "I think the big deal about antivenoms and shortages in the world right now is that drug companies that make any kind of pharmaceutical product, only make it if it's profitable. And the problem with antivenoms is they tend to be fairly expensive to produce."
It's expensive to produce and there is not enough demand -- so little in fact, that the pharmaceutical company that produced antivenom products stopped making them in 2003. The Food and Drug Administration stepped in and extended the expiration dates of the last remaining supplies to last until June 2016. Clark says it will likely last even longer.
"So, there's still expired antivenom around that we know still works. One day that will be gone unless a company starts to make the coral snake antivenom again," said Clark.
In a case of a lifesaving drug, is it unreasonable to expect a pharmaceutical company to continue making it even though they would make higher profits elsewhere? Is this a good place for governmental incentives?
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Friday November 25 2016, @04:54AM
Pretty simple to understand once you read the short article. The problem is almost entirely in the Third World, where they simply can't pay enough to justify any of the pharma companies with the skills to successfully produce the stuff diverting resources from whatever they are doing instead. Resources, both capital and skilled labor, is finite and some uses aren't as productive. This isn't a case of patents, anti-venom is old, but it is still fairly expensive to do.
So I'm just not seeing the problem here, other than it being a call for somebody to invent a simpler and cheaper way to produce the stuff.
Just about the only thing government could do here is help clear away regulations that would make ramping up any new alternative easier and cheaper to accomplish. Because as is, many new treatments never make it past the concept stage once the bean counters compare the cost of FDA approval vs the expected revenue.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 25 2016, @08:16AM
And greed is exactly the reason medicine should never be for profit. Humanity 101.