Clickbait article. Yes the price will go way up. Oxfam claims the doses cost $1 to make (maybe, maybe not Oxfam is guessing). Of course the "cost" to crank out 1 shot is going to exclude R&D, continued testing, ongoing strain testing, the inevitable lawsuits that arise through the course of business, compliance, cold storage and distribution, etc. Yes Pfizer expects to rake in money. Yes there are plenty of other options out there.<p>The price is just a game for discounts, insurance deals, government payouts, all shenanigans.<p>Most significant, no reason to get too incensed by this article.
Sounds like Pfizer is in need of an Economics 101 study. You can barely convince people to get vaccinated, you think you can make em pay a high price for it? Good luck.
I have worked with the design and creation of products regulated by Govt Agencies. When those agencies are both the rule enforcers and the recipient of profit from the very products they regulate, one has created a system that has all the wrong incentives. This is the case with Big Pharma, FDC, NIH, CDC - it has become the Medical/Industrial Complex. There are many examples of regulation application where those that enforce industry/gov't CFR are not on the receiving end of product revenue for which the gov't officials regulate.
Recently, the CDC added this vax to the "approved" list of vaxxes for kiddys. Many don't realize that once this EUA (emergency use approved) vaxx was placed on the kiddy list, Phizer is now off the hook for law suits/any liability. Now since many states will REQUIRE this vax for kids to go to Public Schools etc... hey we can jack the price up.... Reminds me of the TV series The Wire...... sad
Governments should not allow such inane profit margins on products subsidized by taxpayer money. It is clear abuse of good will for the sake of profits.<p>Let's not even touch the ethical baggage associated with excessive greed at the cost of lives.
On thing to consider is that this is essential a list price. These prices do not necessarily reflect the actual price paid. From an NIH article:<p>"Private payers, especially large-volume purchasers, are able to negotiate deep discounts with drug manufacturers. Many private payers, including employers and managed care organizations, often contract with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to manage prescription drug benefits for their enrollees."<p>The same is true for government health care programs.<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK561162/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK561162/</a><p>Without more data, it's hard to know how much above the origianl $30 Pfizer will actual make per dose.
I hope people realize the problem with having a market for medical innovation, backed by patents and copyright as the way of financing medicine, this level of price gouging and capitalization on human suffering can only exist with the current IP laws, and we see a great reduction of price in countries that break those patents and allow for pharmaceutical manufacturers to produce medicine disregarding IP lawfare.
Cue the comments whining about them profiting from a life saving vaccine. Yes, that's kind of how it works. Are they supposed to only profit from ineffective vaccines?