Posted by Ron Hill on March 19, 2002, at 15:38:47
In reply to Re: SAM-e and the price, posted by IsoM on March 19, 2002, at 13:19:48
IsoM,
As I understand it, the following contribute to the high cost of SAM-e.
1. SAM-e degrades quickly if exposed to air. Further, the SAM-e tablets need to be enteric coated so that the SAM-e can be dissolved in the small intestines where it can be effectively absorbed. These constraints raise manufacturing costs, packaging costs, and shipping costs. Innovation in SAM-e manufacturing processes will eventually bring the price down.
2. Almost all of the commercially available SAM-e is currently manufactured by one company in Italy. As demand goes up (and it will!), competition will come in and the price will come down.
I pay a buck twenty a day ($1.20) for my 400 mg/day of SAM-e. To me, this is DIRT CHEAP compared to the very high price I paid over the years of lost opportunity due to repeated failures of prescription AD trials. Plus, since I'm self-insured, SAM-e is less expensive for me to purchase than rx AD's.
Here is a good article I just came across:
http://www.iherb.com/same2.html-- Ron
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> Because SAMe is not a patented medication & any company can make it, is there any reasoning behind its exorbitantly high prices? Like lithium carbonate is simply a salt & couldn't be patented, so the profits to drug companies wasn't high. What is it with SAMe that it's so costly? I can't believe that it's manufacture is that guarded & difficult? ANy ideas???
poster:Ron Hill
thread:98301
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020318/msgs/98861.html