FDA approval is also crucial because Medicaid and Medicare and Veterans will then pay for it. They will not pay for a supplement, even if it is the same thing, even if it costs less than a tenth as much.
https://mises.org/power-market/fda-approval-monopolists-scheme-limit-competition
Charging the price of an expensive car for a garden-variety amino acid, one we eat every day.
A year ago, the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) approved a “drug” called Endari to treat sickle cell disease, which afflicts about 100,000 Americans of African descent and around 25 million more outside the US. Price tag: $28,000 a year.
So what is Endari? Anything approved by the FDA legally becomes a “drug.” But some have noted this “drug” is just a higher dose of L-glutamine, a common amino acid that is in our food and that our bodies also make. Indeed, The agency itself describes this “drug” as “L-glutamine oral powder.” Amino acids are the building blocks for protein and we also use them for other purposes. Read the rest of this entry »
MCViewPoint 