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Company prioritizes $15k ventilators over cheaper model specified in contract:
The Dutch company that received millions of taxpayer dollars to develop an affordable ventilator for pandemics but never delivered them has struck a much more lucrative deal with the federal government to make 43,000 ventilators at four times the price.
The US Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that it plans to pay Royal Philips N.V. $646.7 million for the new ventilators—paying more than $15,000 each. The first 2,500 units are to arrive before the end of May, HHS said, and the rest by the end of December.
Philips refused to say which model of ventilator the government was buying. But in response to questions from ProPublica, HHS officials said the government is purchasing the Trilogy EV300, the more expensive version of the ventilator that was developed with federal funds.
The deal is a striking departure from the federal contract Philips' Respironics division signed in September to produce 10,000 ventilators for the Strategic National Stockpile at a cost of $3,280 each.
"This kind of profiteering—paying four times the negotiated price—is not only irresponsible to taxpayers but is particularly offensive when so many people are out of work," said Dr. Nicole Lurie, who served as the HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response during the Obama administration. "And besides, most of these ventilators will come too late to make a difference in this pandemic. We'll then 'replenish' the stockpile at a ridiculously high price."
"What else," she asked, "won't we be able to buy as a result?"
(Score: 1) by leon_the_cat on Monday April 13 2020, @02:11PM (4 children)
Oxygen treatment seems the way things are going.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @02:28PM
It sounds like it's not an easy question and likely will depend upon the individuals. But, for many, the lungs just can't handle the respirators and in some areas they're seeing a much larger than expected mortality rate afterwards.
But, it's really hard to say as those patients are the ones with the most physically damaged lungs anyways.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday April 13 2020, @02:59PM (1 child)
High pressure ventilators are a nasty sledgehammer solution to a challenge in a butterfly wing-like organ: alveolar collapse.
Oxygen therapy can - up to a point - be a gentler way out of a hard situation, but supply of oxygen isn't all that the lungs do - they also expel CO2 and other waste (mostly CO2.) You can be fully O2 saturated and still in a nasty bad state if the CO2 isn't getting out.
The kindest, gentlest solution to let the lungs heal is ECMO - extra-corporeal something something, basically dialysis for respiration, taking the blood out of the body and using a machine to do the work of the lungs - if ventilators are a sledge-hammer, ECMO is a CNC mill - precise, accurate, but super finicky to use correctly, prone to lots of "oops, didn't think of that" moments, expensive as hell to acquire and operate, but when the stars align you can get some really cool product out of it.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 14 2020, @03:28AM
How do the current devices compare with the old "iron lung"?
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday April 13 2020, @07:08PM
They're *SOME* use. But 50% of those sick enough to be put on a respirator usually die, and with COVID it's around 80%. This is probably because they need to be on them longer, but....
P.S.: They're *NOT* an alternative to oxygen. They're used in combination with it.
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