The molecular compound is about as tricky to synthesize as viagra (which is to say, very simple as far as drug syntheses go), maybe even easier.
All it might take is some instagram cancer influencers, a lab in india or china and some darkweb transactions to DIY your cancer away... if this is so incredibly effective and safe in humans, too.
If it costs pennies a pill and you are trying to sell it for a million dollars, that is a surefire way to get murdered by a mob. I would just sell the patent to the government for a hefty profit and be done with it.
$100/vial insulin and $700 epi-pens would like a word.
Thalidomide used to cost $6 per capsule in the '70s when it was given for morning sickness (yes, I know, birth defects) but as soon as they found out it cured cancer the price went up to $18,000 and that's on GoodRx lol. [1] Harvoni for Hep C is $94,500 for a 12-week course.
Drugs aren't priced based on the cost to manufacture but based on the projected savings as compared to existing treatments for the medical system - or based on the value the provide to customers. Curing cancer provides value -> price moons.
Unfortunately healthcare is not and cannot by definition be a free market as a free market requires the voluntary exchange of money for goods and services. "Pay me or die of cancer" is not a voluntary exchange but a coerced one - hence the failure of pricing and availability of necessary care you see in the US.
I get your point, but these medicines are all bought by insurance companies for some negotiated price they don't disclose. According to GoodRX a Medicare patient will pay between $42-$198 for thalidomide.
All it might take is some instagram cancer influencers, a lab in india or china and some darkweb transactions to DIY your cancer away... if this is so incredibly effective and safe in humans, too.