Martin Shkreli is fascinating

[bennyboy]

If you want to argue that pharmaceutical companies charge too much, I get that. However, the idea that this particular person is some kind of unprecedented antichrist or something seems to be false-- in fact, he seems less objectionable than some of the others. So why did the media zero in on him so strongly?

[abaris]

However, the idea that this particular person is some kind of unprecedented antichrist or something seems to be false-- in fact, he seems less objectionable than some of the others.  So why did the media zero in on him so strongly?

He seems being the operative word. Also, I'm not arguing that this dude is especially bad. He only lends a face to an otherwise faceless army.

I said it before. For the last 20 years I'm working up close and personal with PR people. Sometimes negotiating with them, sometimes our work actually overlaps. I've learned all the keywords to look for in certain texts and statements. And I've learned that words are very indolent. They don't cry out when they're used for outright lies or for dressing up an otherwise unbearable situation.

You can bet your ass, this guy has been thouroughly coached in using his words. Given his vita, he's been surrounded by an army of PR people ever since he entered the executive stage. They all are, and every statement issued by a company is compiled by their PR department or the firm they hired for this purpose.

So, as I said, words are words. Old but true: Actions speak louder than words. Just don't trust anything any executive says. They're not all evil, that's not what I'm trying to say, but they're all disingenuous in what they say. It's their PR department speaking, not themselves.

[Aegon]

Here's a VICE documentary on the guy from the end of last month:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PCb9mnrU1g

[bennyboy]

He makes so many goddamned good points. Like he says that pharmaceuticals are 20% of health care, with 80% going to doctors and hospitals. Shouldn't a heart sugeon who charges a hundred thousand dollars for a heart bypass ALSO be demonized for excessive greed? Does a doctor really need to own a $10 million dollar home at age 45? How about a hospital that makes many millions of dollars a year by charging people thousands of dollars just for being in a bed overnight?

And here's a question: if prices are too high, how is it that insurance companies make huge huge profits? This must mean that they are giving back on average cents on a dollar for the money people put into the system. So YOU guys are paying for Deraprim, for the $100k bypasses, for those expensive hospital beds, etc. It's a kind of tax, with all the money bubbling up to rich corporations.

Deraprim is really such a tiny percent of the overall healthcare picture, which is corrupt on almost every level, at least in the US. Why is there so little "news" about all that shit, and instead dozens of stories against this one guy, who is relatively small potatoes?

[abaris]

And here's a question: if prices are too high, how is it that insurance companies make huge huge profits?  This must mean that they are giving back on average cents on a dollar for the money people put into the system.

Yeah, but the American healthcare system is extremely expensive, and ineffective for that matter. It's late in the evening and I can't be arsed to look up the statistics, but they're quite easily found on the web.

As for him making good points, I expect him to. As I said, just don't take his word as his own. He's been coached. There's no CEO or former CEO nnot being coached on his major talking points.

Let's see him pull his promised schtick and it's a deal. Otherwise he just runs his mouth, according to the script they gave him. But I guess, he will have a hard time doing it, because for one, he's got several appointments with a judge and jury. And he's no longer calling the shots. Others have taken over.

[paulpablo]

I disagree with him when he says the queen is the most important piece on the board, you can still win a game of chess without the queen but not the king

And he reminds me of a character from deathnote.

[Minimalist]

If you want to argue that pharmaceutical companies charge too much, I get that.  However, the idea that this particular person is some kind of unprecedented antichrist or something seems to be false-- in fact, he seems less objectionable than some of the others.  So why did the media zero in on him so strongly?

Because he acted like a scumbag.  People will tolerate a lot but they won't tolerate someone who thinks his shit doesn't stink.

[bennyboy]

I disagree with him when he says the queen is the most important piece on the board, you can still win a game of chess without the queen but not the king

And he reminds me of a character from deathnote.

I know, right? 

As I said before, he could flip the script and become a hero, or he could finally figure out how to kill Batman.

[abaris]

As I said before, he could flip the script and become a hero, or he could finally figure out how to kill Batman.

He could only become a hero, if he did what he promised. But that's out of his hands anyway.

[bennyboy]

Because he acted like a scumbag.  People will tolerate a lot but they won't tolerate someone who thinks his shit doesn't stink.

Did he, though? If you look only at the % increase, that looks to be true. However, if you try to think about the big picture-- costs of similar drugs per pill, who actually has to pay that inflated price (not your grandma, for sure), and so on, then it's a lot less clear.

My main question is why the fuck he wanted to buy a drug that isn't under patent. Why didn't he just pay someone to reverse engineer it? Why buy a drug at a price that will cause you to need to jack up the price, even though you will STILL lose money overall?

It doesn't add up, right?