Hacker News Reader

Something's still missing though. If there really were a shortage, absent any irregularities, prices go up, someone else steps in to make it to earn more money, albeit maybe after sometime.

Seems to me just something wrong / slowing down the price adjustment mechanism? e.g. layers of regulation / bureaucracy or whatever it is the US runs on these days?

View on HN

That markets and companies don't respond as fast as machine traders do seems to confuse and anger people and then make them denounce the whole thing.

Bureaucracy is certainly part of the problem, but absent that it still takes quite a while to set up mass production. Time from CEO saying "start producing drug X" to the first doses coming off the line is going to be months at minimum. This works great for ibuprofen, but cancer drugs are kind of time sensitive.

Months are preferable to years approachong a decade, which is the current case due to regulatory and IP controls.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com