Thoughts on the manufacturer of colchicine caused by the movie Dying to Survive

The film 《Dying to Survive》 is a real event adaptation, like the development of colchicine in the United States.

Colchicine had been used for centuries but was caught up with the FDA’s zeal to regulate unapproved drugs.

A profit-oriented pharmaceutical company seized the opportunity to conduct research showing that the drug is safe. Then, it began selling it at a higher price and issued a generic manufacturer to infringe its branded drugs. This is an unintended consequence of FDA regulation.

Some generic manufacturers have to stop production, while others raise prices, and it is clear that patients are the biggest victims. In the past, it cost only $5 to $10 a month, and now costs $150 a month.

There are three main ways to treat acute gout: colchicine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, and oral steroids. With colchicine's cost being an issue, I suspect more physicians will switch to anti-inflammatories, which can be more dangerous than colchicine in select patients.

It will be interesting to see if other drug manufacturers will try the same approach with other old, before unapproved, medications. It sure beats the expensive research and development needed to produce a new pill.

Like many characters in the film, the money that may be earned for a lifetime is not enough to eat the drug. Everything has two sides. Drug regulation is good, but the improvement of the medical security system is also important. Of course, for those inputs. Manufacturers of bulk drugs developed by a large number of funds should also be treated with a goal attitude. Otherwise, when there are new diseases in the future, no manufacturer has funds to develop new drugs.