if the the ones the pulled from the shelf came close to comparison to the new syntehtics than why would i buy the new more expensive synthetics…
now if you only give them a choice of a 40 year old insulin strain, a 15 yo one and a 5 yo one. and vary the price accordingly the median is going to win out because it is the most cost effective for treatment so all the research money goes for not with the big bad new expensive one…
if you remove the middle option and can only choose between two extremes obviously ease of health is going to win out…
free market princples dictate that a product on its own will decide if the consumer will buy(based on cost,perfomance,and competition), but if it is artifically removed you can never have a true price structure comparison, and can only take the word of the manufactorer whose sole motivation is to create as much profit for it’s share holders as possible…
I agree with jeremiah. At least rpwils described anecdotal evidence; he/she did not state it as fact. There is no way to “know” the minds of others, including researchers. But we do know that corporations exist to make money. And pharma is quick to pass off costs as due to R&D when they spend more on advertising. They are not altruistic, by their nature.
But I do think that most individual researchers want to “make a difference” but they are fighting against the odds. As I indicated earlier, if there were a concentrated focus on research directions across many research teams with larger samples, we would see faster results.
And I think this discussion is worth having. It is not a dissertation, just talk, where there is clearly some consensus among many.
FWIW there are some research companies that get grants. Check out Viacyte.com. They are working with encapsulated stem cells for the treatment of diabetes and just recently received $26M from the state of California as opposed to Faustman who is mainly relying on public funding/Iaccoca. As far as the cost of Insulin I’ll say it again its only the more current forms of insulin that are really expensive and even those can be bought through Canada for about a third of what they cost here in the states. I’ve bought a 10 vial pack of Humalog a few times from one Canadian pharmacy for $330 + shipping which comes out to about $35 a vial. Price gouging for life supporting drugs because we need them to survive should be outlawed especially something like insulin. That’s no different then charging 10x the cost of food today because we need it to survive.
Thanks Jeremiah_81, that’s exactly it and no one should afraid to post anything on this site as it relates to diabetes. We are all here to learn and help one another. Your comment is irresponsible and will make those of us out there who need a place to vent be afraid to vent.
As for your friend of a friend comment I take offense to that. This is a dear friend of mine for over 25 years and I personally know the researcher. He is an outstanding person who has given up everything for finding a cure. He has very little money to his name because of what he has sacrificed. This comment was based on HIS professional opinion nothing more and not meant to impose his beliefs on anyone.
I don’t have answers only questions……we are new to this disease as my 7 year old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 a little over a year ago. Ever since that day I have read hundreds of articles and research papers on diabetes and with the vast amount of research that has gone on over the past 100 years it’s crazy at the amount of money being spent on both a cure and the treatment and it continues to rise. If you consider Faustman’s clinical II cost, she needs 25 million for a drug that has already been proven safe and used for a number of years. If top scientists feel she has a sound idea why can’t we put the time, money and energy around this potential cure for 2 year and figure it out already! I’m not saying put ALL our eggs in one basket but we should at least bring some focus to this! We also should be looking at how we reduce the cost of clinical trials and FDA red tape, seriously 25 million! This may lead to decrease cost to life critical drugs!
One more point and then I will sign off from this thread. I think many of us have had diabetes long enough to have heard the “there will be a cure in 5 years” talk way, way too many times. Do they do that with other chronic illnesses? The research has been going on since the discovery of insulin back in 1922, granted, more since about 1950. But I respond to this topic because I have lost two brothers to t1d complications. I am the third one, out of 6, with t1. So my family has lost quite a lot to diabetes. Therefore, the unorganized approach to diabetes research really bothers me. And the cost of good self-management in this country is unconscionable. I will stop here.
Oh, I can’t go without saying that Dr. Faustman’s commitment, since it keeps coming up, is no different from that of other researchers. I have known hundreds of researchers all across the country and at least 95% of them are dedicated to their research and it’s future benefit. I just don’t know why she needs to get funding from the public instead of from the dozens and dozens of organizational funding sources. Well, that will take me off the thread, for sure!
I don’t think Dr Faustman is anymore committed then any other researcher but I think she seems to be one of the few that is not only concentrated on not only long standing diabetics but also looking for a way to develop an inexpensive treatment alternative which is a huge factor in whether a treatment will make it to the entire diabetic community as opposed to just the wealthy. I know I’m putting the cart before the horse as any breakthrough despite the cost would be exciting but the cost could be the most overlooked factor in treatment. Most people with chronic illness’s are not wealthy, if anything their lower to middle class at best.
Not to sound like a broken record but I again recommend “Emperor of All Maladies”. The amount of money and effort that has gone into finding “cures” for cancer has dwarfed anything that has gone into diabetes and there is no cure on the horizon there either.
Diabetes has in general been transformed from a death sentence into a long term chronic illness. A few years ago I read an article in the paper that quoted AIDs activists saying what they were hoping for was turning AIDs into something like diabetes. The fact that many/most diagnosed now with Type 1 can expect a near normal life expectancy is something to cheer. Yes finger sticks and lows and high out of pockets are a bummer but cures don’t come cheap and in some cases the pain and risk involved is substantial. C.f. bone marrow transplant chemotherapy
I looked it up a year or two ago and Diabetes costs more than cancer. i was suprised when I did my very unscientific “googling” but it was by a healthy margin. Or maybe it would be an unhealthy margin in this case?
Until there is a cure. . . . Check out this treatment. It is keeping me off dialysis!!!
I can personally vouch for the improvement and/or reversal of most
of the compllications they list.
Physicians around the country have safely administered more than 40,000 PIVIT treatments over the past two decades. Patients have experienced more stable blood sugar levels and improved blood pressure levels. According to the research, retinopathy has been arrested or reversed in many cases, as well as heat, cold and touch sensations returned in some neuropathy cases. Patients also reported kidney improvements as well as healing of wounds. An overall sense of well-being, increased energy levels and improved quality of life were all reported by patients undergoing PIVIT treatments.
PULSATILE IV INSULIN THERAPY Available in Tn and CA and soon everywhere
I do know one thing many nephrologist are heavily invented in dialysis centers. I understand they get $$ for referring a patient.
Before you go into dialysis—Check into PULSATILE IV INSULIN THERAPY—gobal-infusions.com
You spend 4 hours a week in therapy. Yes it does involve an IV. You stay on the insulin regimen and diet you are on now.
It has changed my life!! and kept me out of dialysis; I have been on treatment 6 months.
I just Googled it and here is the link to their FAQ page. According to this, it is 6 hours every week. If you stop, the complications return. It says gastroparesis can be reversed with 2 days in-hospital treatment. It is probably not affordable for most people - $25k per year.
Kelly, too bad we can’t get a two-for-one deal on reversing gastroparesis. From what I’ve read insurance doesn’t cover it because it’s considered experimental. I’d better start saving my pennies.
