Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own
&gt; Though insulin generally costs less than $10 per dose to produce, some versions of the drug have a list price above $200. This is in part because, in the US, a warped market has allowed three companies to dominate the insulin business.<p>&gt; With California leading the way, a handful of states are considering trying to disrupt the market for essential medications, starting with insulin. The plan would be to manufacture and sell insulin themselves for a price that is roughly equivalent to the cost of production.<p>I feel like I&#x27;m missing something here. My understanding of why insulin is so expensive: laws are created and enforced by the government preventing people from competing in the space.<p>If you try to make your own insulin, and you take it to market with 3rd party analysis and certification of it being medical grade (and safe) insulin, you&#x27;ll start seeing an escalation of the state against you. First angry letters from lawyers and eventually, if you continue head strong and ignore everyone telling you to stop, government officials (possibly with guns) will come and forcibly shut you down.<p>Is California just going to ignore these laws? How will the state not be liable for damages when individuals are?<p>I&#x27;m all in favor of revoking the legal structures that pick the winners in this market. It seems like there are plenty of people passionate in this space that would&#x2F;could make insulin at near-cost if permitted to.<p>It&#x27;s just that, by my understanding, it&#x27;s the government that doesn&#x27;t permit them to. It&#x27;s weird that people in the government (at the state level) are stepping in to do what people in the government (at the federal, but possibly also the state level?) won&#x27;t let people in the market do.<p>Edit: substituting “intellectual property laws” with “laws” as it seems there’s more to it than just IP.