A recent article on vox.com said:
“The EpiPen was invented in the 1970s by a biomedical engineer, Sheldon Kaplan, who was searching for a way to treat allergic reactions quickly.
What he came up with was the EpiPen we know today: a pen-like device that delivers a premeasured dose of the hormone epinephrine in emergency situations. The device is ubiquitous in our country, carried by those with asthma or life-threatening allergies.
And since 2007, a drug company called Mylan has quietly hiked EpiPen’s price by 400 percent.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent the company a letter Monday asking for an explanation of why some have found themselves paying more than $500 for the generic medication.
“I am concerned that the substantial price increase could limit access to a much-needed medication,” he wrote.
Grassley can ask Mylan to explain its prices, and he can express concern. But there’s not much he can do beyond that. The American government is exceptional in that it has no power to regulate drug prices.
The story of Mylan’s giant EpiPen price increase is, more fundamentally, a story about America’s unique drug pricing policies. We are the only developed nation that lets drugmakers set their own prices, maximizing profits the same way sellers of chairs, mugs, shoes, or any other manufactured goods would.” (Ref: http://www.vox.com/2016/8/23/12608316/epipen-price-mylan)
The article highlights a systemic problem, prevalent not only in America, but across many developing and some developed economies. It requires a fundamental understanding of systems theory and dynamics to identify a real solution to this problem.
We can change anything in the world if we understand the nature of all systems.
An Introduction to System and Revolution
by Dr. V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, The Inventor of Email and Systems Scientist
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