Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by markbnj 2542 days ago
The whole point of the article is that the manufacturers aren't developing new drugs. The drugs haven't changed in decades. They're making small changes to delivery systems and other ancillary aspects and then patenting these new variations, as well as engaging in the usual quid pro quo wink wink old boy network anti-competitive manipulation of regulatory regimes.
1 comments

Insulin has changed quite dramatically over the decades. Earlier iterations of insulin are available as generics. But newer versions act faster and have fewer side effects.
The article referred to specific insulin products and the specific practices of the manufacturers in those cases, not "insulin" in the generic sense. If you feel the article is in error then responding to the incorrect points would have been more useful than issuing a blanket defense of for-profit drug manufacturing.