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Comment by aeturnum | Hacker News Reader

Uh, sure?

The Mylan version will also probably cost less than list for most people (though Mylan will get their money, just like the generic maker).

Also, you're correct that the price will come down over time. If the FDA had said, "this approval is part of a process that will eventually lower the cost within the next couple of years," then the article would make no sense. That's not what they said when this generic version was released.

The article is not claiming that generic drugs don't reduce prices. It is claiming that the narrative from the FDA, that this approval will reduce costs, is largely false.

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The list prices hold up better without this competition. So, the actual price people pay for either drops even when the genric version has a very similar list price.

However, it drops even more in 180 days.

Yes, the article states that the Mylan product can be purchased for under $150 with a discount.

In fact, several large retailers sell EpiPen for $150 when including a coupon, according to GoodRx.

As for the FDA narrative not being true, how do you know that? The article doesn't actually state the true cost of the Teva product anywhere, which was my original point.

$150 with discount or coupon is still way too expensive. Where I live in Europe (Belgium) pharmacies sell the EpiPen for just $50. No need for a coupon, that's the regular price. It's even cheaper for some patients.

In belgium the government sets the maximum price of drugs. The drug company has to submit a dossier explaining objectively why a particular price that they propose is reasonable.

I think that is what we need in the U.S. When I was in college I survived on a food budget of $100/week during my first year. I have diabetes, and I am supposed to (though not required) test my blood three times a day, 21 times per week, at $1 per strip. My Metformin costs me another $22 per week, and a two other drugs costs me about the same. The result is that a single well-controlled condition costs me $88 per week, $352 per month.

Put another way, if I was working minimum wage without insurance and no other income (12% tax bracket), I'd need to work 13.6 hours to cover the drugs for that one condition, 34% of my take home (roughly, I didn't include state tax, social security, etc.). Where as one person I would have been above the poverty threshold of $12.14k in 2018, now I would effectively be below it.

This is why so many people who don't have steady jobs (e.g., the gig economy) have to choose between drugs and food.

I’m not arguing the price is low, I’m arguing we don’t know the real price of the generic.

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