As regulator prepares to approve Lenacapavir in the US, campaigners are urging the manufacturer, Gilead, to make it ‘available and affordable for all who need it’
        • Kabaka@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          7·
          6 days ago

          Nobody was saying it would be. The headline and article are about production costs at different scales, not prices for anyone buying it after that.

          Hill had calculated a generic price of $40 annually last year, but said the interest from generic manufacturers had warranted new analysis. This showed lenacapavir could be mass produced for $35 to $46 a year, if there was annual demand for 2m doses, falling to $25 at scaled up production of 5m to 10m doses each year.

          Oh wait, I missed a line where the article actually suggests this…

          Dr Hill’s research indicates that this gamechanging innovation could – within a year of launch – be produced and sold for just $25 per person per year.

          But you’re right, they won’t sell it for $0 of profit. It would be nice.

          • Etterra@discuss.onlineEnglish
            8·
            5 days ago

            No they’ll sell it for 50x what an annual treatment regimen costs. That way they can grind down the desperate and still profit off the rich.

          • Bakkoda@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            2·
            5 days ago

            FDA can grant exclusivity to that drug. And then once there’s finally a generic that can also be granted a one year exclusivity. The FDA facilitates scarcity.