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from the better-mousetrap-trapped-in-limbo dept.
AlterNet reports
The [EpiPen], which millions of Americans depend on, was invented in the 1970s by engineer Sheldon Kaplan[PDF], who died seven years ago in modest surroundings amid obscurity. But Kaplan's patent made its way into [the] Netherlands-based drug maker Mylan, which, since 2007, has jacked up the price of the spring-loaded injector from $57 a shot to $300.
[...] The high price [...] caught the attention of Dr. Douglas McMahon. The 38-year-old allergy specialist in St. Paul, Minnesota, has been thinking about how to improve on the EpiPen and to do so in a way that's affordable.
[...] McMahon saw that the EpiPen device was not only overpriced for what it does but also was too big to be easily carried in a pocket. For the past couple of years, he has been tinkering with injection-device components in his lab. And the result of his work is AllergyStop [1], an injection prototype that's small enough to fit on a key chain. McMahon claimed his device is as effective as the EpiPen and can be marketed and sold for about $50.
But, even though McMahon's device has been production-ready for the past two months, the steps he must take to get the device approved will cost him about $2 million and it will potentially take him years to go through all the hurdles required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for possible approval of his invention.
[1] All content is behind scripts. archive.li will run those for you.
Previously:
EpiPen's Price Increased 400% since 2008
(Score: 5, Interesting) by mth on Monday September 12 2016, @11:10AM
But Kaplan's patent made its way into [the] Netherlands-based drug maker Mylan, which, since 2007, has jacked up the price of the spring-loaded injector from $57 a shot to $300.
Since I live in the Netherlands, I wondered why I had never heard of the company. It turns out it's a US company that is registered in the Netherlands, possibly for tax reasons.
As the original invention is from the 70's, I don't think the patents from the original invention are relevant anymore today. Wikipedia lists several patent lawsuits [wikipedia.org], so there are patent issues, but I guess those would be about changes made to the device over the years.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @12:00PM
its mainly the injector. Its not so trivial to make a device with a needle that is safe to carry around yet can be used to inject yourself rapidly and easily.
(Score: 2) by art guerrilla on Monday September 12 2016, @07:02PM
i dont know, apparently hundreds of thousands of heroin/etc addicts apparently manage to do so, even in prison... because of bee sting allergy, used to carry epipen in glove compartment, came in a little red plastic case that was semi durable, semi crushproof...
(Score: 3, Informative) by Thexalon on Monday September 12 2016, @12:27PM
There's no "possibly" about it: There has been a strong trend towards what's called "inversion", where a US-based company will create a subsidiary in another country and then reshuffle the paperwork so that the subsidiary is the one responsible for the taxes. And it just so happens that the taxes in that country are much lower than the taxes in the US.
This works because the tariffs are lower than the tax rates. And that's why Apple is theoretically an Irish company, not a US company based in Cupertino.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.