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Hook
Watch as this 60 Minutes journalist realizes how Big Pharma is ripping people off
@moreperfectunion
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Why it worked
The video leverages a shocking price discrepancy and a relatable health issue (asthma inhalers) to highlight corporate greed. The involvement of a well-known news program (60 Minutes) and a government agency (FTC) lends credibility and urgency to the message, making it highly shareable.
Summary
This video highlights the significant price difference for inhalers between France and the US, where companies allegedly extend patents on minor components like caps or straps to maintain high prices. Following FTC action, some companies have drastically reduced prices, and the FTC has filed a lawsuit to lower the cost of insulin and other drugs.
Structure
- 1Inhaler price disparity between France and US
- 2Companies patenting minor components to extend drug prices
- 3FTC warning letters lead to price drops
- 4FTC lawsuit to lower drug prices
Product placement
60 Minutes: (Appears) A news program logo. Removing it would not change what happens in the video.
FTC: (Acts) The Federal Trade Commission, a government agency that takes legal action against companies. Removing it would change what happens in the video.
On-screen text
Watch as this 60 Minutes journalist realizes how Big Pharma is ripping people off
60
MINUTES
On these inhalers, they cost $7 in France.
The same exact inhaler is around $500
in the United States.
Wow. Now, something's out of whack. We agree.
So we took a close look at this,
and we found that companies were
listing patents for
things like the inhaler cap or the
strap on your inhaler.
So nothing to do with the actual
ingredients
of the drug or the formulation or
composition of the drug.
So this is an inhaler for asthma.
Show us what the innovation was
that they claimed
allowed them to extend the patent.
So it's this strap that
they listed a patent for, this little
piece of plastic. No.
They were saying that they should be
able to continue the patent.
And generics can't come in for the
medication because
they put that strap on.
That's right. To make sure you didn't
lose the cap. That's right.
After the FTC sent warning letters to
the four major inhaler
makers, three of them, including this
one,
dropped the price from hundreds of
dollars to just $35.
And two days ago, the FTC filed a
lawsuit to
bring down the price of insulin and
scores of other drugs, suing
three companies the agency says are
responsible for manipulating most
of the prices.
Original caption
FTC Chair Lina Khan went on 60 Minutes and talked about how the same inhaler that cost $7 in France used to cost $500 in the U.S. Then she took action and got giant pharma companies to bring the cost here down to $35. #labormovement #corporategreed #workersrights #bigpharma Originally posted September 2024
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