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275 points swores | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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tompccs ◴[] No.40174095[source]
You can't compare running a clinical trial for a drug targeting a communicable disease in the developing world to trials for treatments of complex diseases in rich countries where you need serology, histopathology and radiological endpoints.

Worth noting as well that J&J have shut down their entire division in communicable diseases because it was so unprofitable for them.

(Source: I work in this industry)

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thomassmith65 ◴[] No.40174444[source]
Was it 'unprofitable' as in 'losing money', or 'unprofitable' as in 'not worth the time'? If it's the latter, I don't have enough information about the rest of J&J to draw any conclusions.
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s1artibartfast ◴[] No.40174593[source]
Financially, they are the same.

If you can make more money by not doing X, than doing X, it doesnt matter.

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kurthr ◴[] No.40175414[source]
I guess all doctors should be cosmetic surgeons then?

Seriously, the argument is that drug companies should only do the most profitable thing? If that's the case, they deserve to have all subsidies removed, and be regulated into oblivion, because they will serve no purpose, but profit.

Just see what happened with the opioid epidemic. If you're only looking at next quarters profits and destroy public trust, while skirting the legal boundaries you'll make bank until you're not.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60610707

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SkyPuncher ◴[] No.40176940{4}[source]
This happens to some degree. Residency spots are limited by specialty. Over time, different specialties have come and gone as being extremely competitive.
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nradov ◴[] No.40177024{5}[source]
Plastic surgery is among the medical specialties with the highest job satisfaction and lowest burnout rate. It pays well, and for cosmetic procedures they don't have to deal with insurance billing hassles. Most procedures can be scheduled in advance which allows for a decent lifestyle without frequent on-call interruptions.

https://www.ama-assn.org/medical-students/specialty-profiles...

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1. haldujai ◴[] No.40177161{6}[source]
I think you’re conflating plastics with aesthetics/cosmo. Only a small minority of plastic surgeons practice primarily aesthetics.

Majority will have a micro, breast or hand practice and have a side hustle in aesthetics so the overall satisfaction stat you’re citing is not reflective.

There are different hassles in cosmetics like increased overhead, patient expectations (which are much higher in cosmetics) and advertising/patient recruitment. Call can be worse as the patient paying $50k for a rhinoplasty expects the surgeon to answer the phone for every whim.