It probably should be analysed how the bulk price of metformin could be lowered. For example, global supply of vitamin C costs around 1 billion USD a year with 150 kt of bulk powder.
Yes but as I discuss above it needs to be turned into pills and distributed to people, for which a 2 cents per pill cost seems pretty low. If you are arguing for fortification of foods with metformin then presumably we would need to show extraordinary levels of safety, since we would be dosing the entire population at very variable levels.
In general I would find it helpful if you could try and keep your replies in the same comment—this basically seems to be an extension of your other comment about buying metformin in bulk and having it split in two makes it harder to keep track.
Ok. I just have two ideas in different moments of time, that is why there are two comments.
I think that again the problem of expensive pills is not a problem of antiaging therapies, but a more general problem of expensive medicine and poverty. I should not try to solve all possible problems in one article as it will immediately grow to the size of the book.
Most drugs we now consume are overpriced compared with bulk prices; also food is much more expensive in retail. I think it is important problem, but it is another problem.
I’m not saying you need to solve the problem, I’m saying you should take the problem into account in your cost calculations, instead of assuming it will be solved.
In the next version of the article, I will present general equation in which will try to answer all these concerns. It will be (price of the experiment)(probability of success) + indirect benefits of experiment - (fixed price of metformin pills for life)(number of people)(share of adopters)(probability of success of the experiment) - unexpected side effects—growth of food consumption because of higher population. Anything lost?
I’m not quite sure what this equation is meant to be calculating. If it is meant to be $ per life saved it should be something like:
Direct effects:
(price of the experiment)/((probability of success)*(lives saved assuming e.g. 10% adoption))
(Note the division is very important here! You missed it in your comment, but it is not clear at all what you would be estimating without it.)
Your estimate of the indirect costs seems right to me, although in the case of:
growth of food consumption because of higher population
I would probably not include this level of secondary effect, since these people are also economically productive etc. so it being very hard to estimate.
Yes but as I discuss above it needs to be turned into pills and distributed to people, for which a 2 cents per pill cost seems pretty low. If you are arguing for fortification of foods with metformin then presumably we would need to show extraordinary levels of safety, since we would be dosing the entire population at very variable levels.
In general I would find it helpful if you could try and keep your replies in the same comment—this basically seems to be an extension of your other comment about buying metformin in bulk and having it split in two makes it harder to keep track.
Ok. I just have two ideas in different moments of time, that is why there are two comments.
I think that again the problem of expensive pills is not a problem of antiaging therapies, but a more general problem of expensive medicine and poverty. I should not try to solve all possible problems in one article as it will immediately grow to the size of the book.
Most drugs we now consume are overpriced compared with bulk prices; also food is much more expensive in retail. I think it is important problem, but it is another problem.
I’m not saying you need to solve the problem, I’m saying you should take the problem into account in your cost calculations, instead of assuming it will be solved.
In the next version of the article, I will present general equation in which will try to answer all these concerns. It will be (price of the experiment)(probability of success) + indirect benefits of experiment - (fixed price of metformin pills for life)(number of people)(share of adopters)(probability of success of the experiment) - unexpected side effects—growth of food consumption because of higher population. Anything lost?
I’m not quite sure what this equation is meant to be calculating. If it is meant to be $ per life saved it should be something like:
Direct effects: (price of the experiment)/((probability of success)*(lives saved assuming e.g. 10% adoption))
(Note the division is very important here! You missed it in your comment, but it is not clear at all what you would be estimating without it.)
Your estimate of the indirect costs seems right to me, although in the case of:
I would probably not include this level of secondary effect, since these people are also economically productive etc. so it being very hard to estimate.