Barely Contained Rage: An Open Letter to Johnson & Johnson

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  • Опубліковано 10 лип 2024
  • BIG BIG NEWS: THE STOP TB PARTNERSHIP HAS ANNOUNCED SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS WITH JOHNSON & JOHNSON TO MAKE GENERIC BEDAQUILINE AVAILABLE IN ALMOST EVERY COUNTRY WITH A HIGH BURDEN OF TUBERCULOSIS: www.stoptb.org/news/global-dr...
    But we are still waiting on the details. Tell them we need the details:
    Tell them on twitter: / jnjnews and / jnjglobalhealth
    Tell them on facebook: / jnj
    Tell them on instagram: jnj?hl=en
    And tell them wherever else you can. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell the Internet. This must not be allowed to happen.
    Multidrug resistant tuberculosis is a growing threat, and bedaquiline is essential to curing it. Generic bedaquiline will drive down the cost of the drug by over 60%, allowing far more communities to access and distribute treatment. Evergreening the patent will cost so many lives over the next four years, which Johnson & Johnson knows. They must drop their efforts to enforce the secondary patents.
    Big thanks to TB expert Dr. Carole Mitnick and MSF's Christophe Perrin for helping me to understand the complexities of drug patents!
    ----
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    Help transcribe videos - nerdfighteria.info
    Learn more about our project to help Partners in Health radically reduce maternal mortality in Sierra Leone: www.pih.org/hankandjohn
    If you're able to donate $2,000 or more to this effort, please join our matching fund: pih.org/hankandjohnmatch
    If you're in Canada, you can donate here: pihcanada.org/hankandjohn
    John's twitter - / johngreen
    Hank's twitter - / hankgreen
    Hank's tumblr - / edwardspoonhands

КОМЕНТАРІ • 6 тис.

  • @vlogbrothers
    @vlogbrothers  Рік тому +13805

    BIG BIG NEWS: THE STOP TB PARTNERSHIP HAS ANNOUNCED SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS WITH JOHNSON & JOHNSON TO MAKE GENERIC BEDAQUILINE AVAILABLE IN ALMOST EVERY COUNTRY WITH A HIGH BURDEN OF TUBERCULOSIS: www.stoptb.org/news/global-drug-facility-update-access-to-bedaquiline
    But we are still waiting on them to understand the details. Ask them for the details:
    Tell them on facebook: facebook.com/jnj/
    Tell them on instagram: instagram.com/jnj/?hl=en
    This is an incredible day. Obviously TREMENDOUS work still to do in improving access and diagnostics in tuberculosis treatment, but wow wow wow bedaquiline is going to be so much more affordable in almost every country. (There are a few countries where there is complexity, but even there rays of hope have emerged in the last day.) THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT FOR TB SURVIVORS. -John

    • @SaltFreeSea
      @SaltFreeSea Рік тому +21

      +

    • @emh6021
      @emh6021 Рік тому +118

      What market would you suggest we choose for the CREDO report?

    • @jayspeidell
      @jayspeidell Рік тому +4

      Doxx the executives and protest at their houses.

    • @CheeseBallsNBeanDip
      @CheeseBallsNBeanDip Рік тому +5

      @@emh6021 following

    • @Katie-hh9eu
      @Katie-hh9eu Рік тому +14

      @@emh6021 I got stuck on that too

  • @fishface01992
    @fishface01992 Рік тому +10039

    I want to contextualize John's point made at 3:30. I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana and I can tell you (even though Ghana's economy is in its own unique rough patch) the price of $1.50 for one pill (in a several months long treatment plan) is absolutely outrageous for most people living in West Africa. $1.50 translates to about 17 Ghana Cedi. 17 cedi is enough to buy 17 balls of kenkey, which can comfortably feed a child in my village for about three days. It's enough to buy half a month supply of condoms or one pack of menstrual pads. It's enough to buy a seat on a bus to take you over 25 miles. It's enough to buy three pills of a dewormer I'm currently taking because people get many other diseases they don't plan to. 25 cedi is the price of a health insurance coverage for four years, and even that many villagers don't see as a worthwhile investment because money is very, very tight. People would wince at having to pay 17 cedi once for a drug, let alone having to pay for 4-6 pills every day for several months. Many people in this part of the world choose to tough it out and die seemingly abruptly, and it's largely due to the cost of medical treatment.

    • @redfailhawk
      @redfailhawk Рік тому +583

      Thank you for your personal insight. This makes it much more real, as a person in a region where Tuberculosis isn't prevalent, in understanding just how expensive and prohibitively inaccessible it is.

    • @SylviaWrites
      @SylviaWrites Рік тому +23

      +

    • @Vxjx15
      @Vxjx15 Рік тому +244

      Thank you for the much needed context!! Something that is a burdensome cost to low income people in places like the US can be downright cost prohibitive in the global south, and people may not realize that without putting it into terms like this.
      Also thank you for your work with the Peace Corp!

    • @rebeccamari
      @rebeccamari Рік тому +11

      +

    • @sharonfieldstone
      @sharonfieldstone Рік тому +10

      +

  • @nikki3879
    @nikki3879 Рік тому +3430

    I heard it said recently that "poverty doesn't exist because we can't help the poor. It exists because we can't satisfy the rich." And it has never felt more applicable than it does in this scenario. Price gouging life saving medication simply so the people who least need it can squeeze more out of people who can least afford it, is the most deplorable thing I think a human can do. J&J are definitely gonna be hearing from me. Thanks for the heads up, John.

  • @ScarryGargoyle
    @ScarryGargoyle Рік тому +1520

    An influencer using their voice to save lives. This is what I’ve been waiting for. Thank you. Let’s all come together. We have too! Hopefully by, commenting, and liking the algorithm will pick this shit up faster.

    • @verity3616
      @verity3616 Рік тому +12

      And let's keep doing it. What better community than a group of *nerd* fighters to fight for reform? Heck, let's take on climate change and other challenges next.

    • @strongblackcoffee9573
      @strongblackcoffee9573 Рік тому +13

      The bigger deeper problem is capitalism and the profit motive. Hopefully Hank and John figure it out and take a stand.

    • @ScarryGargoyle
      @ScarryGargoyle Рік тому +2

      @@strongblackcoffee9573 agreed.

    • @Goofy8907
      @Goofy8907 Рік тому +6

      Except he's passively being part of the problem by not questioning the system and instead acting like this is an individual issue to solve

    • @Goofy8907
      @Goofy8907 Рік тому +3

      ​@@strongblackcoffee9573thank you! ❤

  • @aristired6252
    @aristired6252 Рік тому +896

    Under no circumstances should LIFE SAVING technology be privatized. Life should not be a privilege. Privatization like this is some dystopian stuff.
    Thank you John for educating people and truly working for change. Your video will help save countless of lives.

    • @Parker--
      @Parker-- Рік тому +9

      Practically everything except tiktok is a lifesaving technology. Most medicines, cars, helicopters, cell phones, satellites, etc. Every pipe, brick, computer chip, door knob and for any building of a hospital, water sanitation, fire department, police, etc. should every brick and pipe and plastic be socialized because it could be used to save a life? All this sounds very nice but it is wildly idealistically naive.
      The patent system for pharmaceuticals needs a complete overhaul. We do not need to enact further drag down the path of corporatist/Socialist hell holes to fix this issue; that’s how we got here in the first place.

    • @DipayanPyne94
      @DipayanPyne94 Рік тому +32

      ​@@Parker-- I don't think you know what neoliberalism has done to the world, especially USA, over the past 40+ years.

    • @crunchybones3899
      @crunchybones3899 Рік тому +25

      @@DipayanPyne94 I don’t think they know what “lifesaving” means either.

    • @Parker--
      @Parker-- Рік тому +1

      @@crunchybones3899 "lifesaving" is only lifesaving if there's zero steps between?

    • @crunchybones3899
      @crunchybones3899 Рік тому +23

      @@Parker-- personally being able to afford to buy a helicopter won’t save your live.

  • @paulmichaud2042
    @paulmichaud2042 Рік тому +8682

    Half my Twitter is Liverpool preseason and the other half is you absolutely torching J&J for immoral patent strategies…very nice work John

  • @juliescott4473
    @juliescott4473 Рік тому +3921

    As someone who used to work for J&J, I can confirm the upper management always prioritizes profits over people, including thier own employees which is why thier turnover is ridiculous if you look into it. So yes, most of the employees also wish thier corporate overlords gave a single care about actually saving lives, but have very little power to make that happen. I left a few years ago and have zero interest in ever working for them again. It's also really difficult to boycott them because they own an INSANE number of brands (seriously things you would never guess) and you can't just stop taking your meds.

    • @GigaBoost
      @GigaBoost Рік тому +95

      Of course they do. They're a corporation. That's how corporations work

    • @sharongerlach8792
      @sharongerlach8792 Рік тому +41

      That is so sad. I desperately want this not to be true. May someone at J&J prove her wrong just this once!

    • @ampthebassplayer
      @ampthebassplayer Рік тому +264

      That's what frustrating about most industries. It's almost impossible to vote with your wallet because they basically have a monopoly on so many products. I'd love to avoid buying from unethical companies, but then that leaves almost no options. Between Nestle, J&J, and General Mills, they basically own the entire grocery store.

    • @sl4983
      @sl4983 Рік тому

      How that's not your real name

    • @nihil1
      @nihil1 Рік тому +108

      @@GigaBoost one of the worst aspects of the system is this, corporations work that way and HAVE to work that way. Mgmt is mandated to work in interests of shareholders, who will, in turn, expect short term profits. A lot of shares are owned by investment funds and banks that buy those shares with money from many different parties, This maximally dilutes the stake for everyone and makes the human aspect of "owning" a company so far removed that it is impossible to find someone to care. This is why regulations are so important. But then, mgmt will (again, in best shareholder interest) lobby politicians to keep regulations at bay.

  • @314159vedic
    @314159vedic Рік тому +93

    In 1944 my grandmother caught TB. She probably caught it working on the trolley. She unknowingly passed it onto my mother who was 2. By the time they were both diagnosed it was too late for my grandmother to be effectively treated but my mother was treated. Her mother died 9 years later from TB. Those antibiotics saved my mother's life.

    • @nihilismistheonlyway4680
      @nihilismistheonlyway4680 Рік тому +5

      Oh no that sucks. Wish people would understand just how awful and contagious it is. I was exposed as a child from my newly immigrated family from Vietnam but somehow we were lucky.

  • @liketheduck
    @liketheduck Рік тому +184

    I love this, John. Thank you for mobilizing this community.
    "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not."

  • @jefffarnworth7578
    @jefffarnworth7578 Рік тому +3867

    My wife spent time in South America and contracted TB. She took life saving medications and is alive today. Everyone deserves access to life saving medication.

    • @LucielStarz123
      @LucielStarz123 Рік тому +7

      Everyone does have access to the drug, provider they can pay for it. Are you going to open your wallet for someone else?

    • @warfarenotwarfair5655
      @warfarenotwarfair5655 Рік тому

      Why was she in a South American 3rd world country? She should already know disease is rampant in these countries.

    • @rrai1999
      @rrai1999 Рік тому

      @@LucielStarz123 that's the governments or your insurances job. we all pay collectively into it in order that all of us receive care when we need it. it's beneficial to care about others in your community and it promotes general progress and wellbeing, it's low iq behavior to not care about others. low empathy they call it. and no, not everyone has access to the drug. public tax funds were used in the research of this drug in order to produce life saving drugs for the public. johnson and johnson would literally prefer to generate as much profit as they can get away with while they legally can than just selling a life saving pill at a reasonable price. even if it was expensive, insurance would cover it- but if its so ungodly expensive that they wont, which seems to be the case, it drives people to poverty trying to get the medicine they need. paying a huge company that literally wouldnt even notice if you stole an entire truck loads worth of their medicine and used it at home for the rest of your life.

    •  Рік тому +172

      @@LucielStarz123 You missed the point. That medication was provided by public health, that's why she was able to take it and live to tell the story.

    • @ZelZel-04
      @ZelZel-04 Рік тому +113

      @@LucielStarz123 Why should someone have to pay to save their life?

  • @stimela1000
    @stimela1000 Рік тому +2165

    I'm originally from South Africa, where TB is a big problem. In one town where I lived, there was a whole hospital dedicated entirely to TB patients. A friend of my dad's had four sons. About five years ago, I heard that he had recently died due to TB. But before he died, he lost three of his four sons to TB. One of his sons contracted TB more than once, but the final time he caught the resistant strain and died. I hate this disease. Please give these profiteering sharks hell.

    • @twoleftsright
      @twoleftsright Рік тому +16

      So I was coming here to say something similar. I paused on John's Venn diagram and to see South Africa in the centre breaks my heart. Looki get that Sierra Leonian Healthcare is important, but they are only a high TB burden, not all forms of TB + HIV, and I always feel like more should be said about that in these videos. I'm glad they're helping Africa, but there are so many health care systems on the continent that could use similar infrastructure.

    • @jennieivins
      @jennieivins Рік тому

      +

    • @sarahprunierlaw9147
      @sarahprunierlaw9147 Рік тому +1

      That is horrifying

    • @fakered_head
      @fakered_head Рік тому

      Thanks for sharing your story ❤️

    • @airmerly-1218
      @airmerly-1218 Рік тому +5

      South African here and these are facts. The youngst person I knew that died because of TB was 14 and in the region I live the disease is one of the biggest (and most expensive) burdens on the public health sector. In many cases people repeatedly get TB which leads to more drug resistant variants. It disgusting that people still die due to a CURABLE disease.

  • @blaket5346
    @blaket5346 Рік тому +61

    Pharmacy Tech and Pre-Pharmacy student here, this is just the tip of the iceberg of the sickening things that drug companies try to get away with. Not to mention the red tape people have to go through when dealing with insurance companies for life-saving drugs. More awareness needs to be brought to the entire pharmaceutical and healthcare industries of how money-hungry companies are more worried about the bottom-line instead of the focusing on what's best for humanity.

  • @Fred-jc7rc
    @Fred-jc7rc 11 місяців тому +36

    It took less people to persuade J&J to make changes than TB has killed in the past year. Really shows the power of public opinion on this company and a rare, but admirable use of this channel that will save millions of lives. Unbelievable is the impact that one man in a UA-cam video can make on the world!

    • @tobene
      @tobene 11 місяців тому +5

      It also shows the power of the Profit incentive. J&Js intention was not to kill people, that was just a side effect of making money. Long lasting and system wide change cant be made through public opinion campains but through system change

    • @Furretkun
      @Furretkun 10 місяців тому +1

      It might've not been their intention, but they were very aware of it which makes them complicit in helping kill many people. Its sad. @@tobene

  • @Just_a_commenter
    @Just_a_commenter Рік тому +2275

    The title radiates justified angy. I approve.
    Edit: yep, definitely justified. Corporate greed standing in the way of progress for humaity... Nothing new, but always infuriating.

    • @jacobredfield1386
      @jacobredfield1386 Рік тому +8

      angy????

    • @breadstick4458
      @breadstick4458 Рік тому +20

      @@jacobredfield1386 ANGY!!!!

    • @kioloup
      @kioloup Рік тому +8

      @@HighFlyActionGuy agreed but no one is ready for a societal reform.

    • @cryengine_x
      @cryengine_x Рік тому

      it's usually govt greed, see biden et al ukraine war, inflation skyrocketing 32 trillion debt etc, noone can afford housing and now many africans dying due to 1st world white leftists banning cheap fossil fuel energy

    • @UncleKennysPlace
      @UncleKennysPlace Рік тому +5

      Corporations. Exist. To. Make. A. Profit. Period.
      And that motive has spurred huge innovation.

  • @srkeshet
    @srkeshet Рік тому +3783

    After telling this to my mother, I learned that my grandmother had TB. She was privileged to have US healthcare. She was a nurse and I’m sure she would have agreed with you.

    • @HercadosP
      @HercadosP Рік тому +61

      Privileged to pay 456.75 per pill

    • @iriandia
      @iriandia Рік тому +18

      My grandfather had TB and survived, because they found a nodule of walled-off TB in his lung, years later. He didn’t really know when he might’ve gotten it. But since he lived in the US he would’ve been fine if it flared up.

    • @emilyshanahan7647
      @emilyshanahan7647 Рік тому +3

      My great grandfather died of TB when my grandma was in Elementary school.

    • @adde9506
      @adde9506 Рік тому +38

      As a person who is "privileged" to have American healthcare, I would greatly like to use the insurance I am forced to pay for to go to the doctor, but I can't afford it. It took me two months and a government agency to get my rx covered and I am sick of clawing for less than the minimum. The way it is now, if I get TB, I won't be getting treatment either. Maybe everyone could be a little less greedy.

    • @melissafuller7753
      @melissafuller7753 Рік тому

      ❤❤❤

  • @annacalleja88
    @annacalleja88 Рік тому +160

    Coming back to this from Hanks Video with tears of joy. Dear John and Hank, thank you for being a force for good consistently inspiring creativity, education and non-profit goodness both in me personally as an artist and globally on wondrous days like today. Especially powerful knowing you have both been going through so much personally. So proud of this community. Thank you thank you thank you!

  • @daisymay6819
    @daisymay6819 Рік тому +135

    I have just recently started working in infectious disease and I can honestly say I was so shocked to find out that people still get TB. I place that solely down to ignorance as I am from a rich country and have not dealt with it till now. What J&J are doing is disgusting and im glad that negotiation have been successful but they're are plenty of over big pharma companies that are doing the same. John you are really making a difference and for that I thank you greatly!

    • @Sweetlyfe
      @Sweetlyfe Рік тому +1

      As someone from Australia who tested positive for latent Tuberculosis which I got from an adult student over many months in a small classroom room where she sat next to me the student on the other side got it too, the 9 months of treatment was awful, massive fatigue I fell asleep driving got lucky and even though I drifted 4 lanes the rumble strips in the emergency lane woke me up. I knew TB was still a problem but I didn’t realise it was a problem in Indonesia which is where my student went home for a holiday in to her village and came back with active TB.

    • @daisymay6819
      @daisymay6819 Рік тому +2

      @@Sweetlyfe it mind blowing! TB should not be a thing anymore it should of been eradicated, along with Polio! I hope you are doing well and I'm glad you got the treatment needed! My comment was a bit wrong I did know that people still got TB what I meant to say is that I am shocked at how common and prevalent it is!

    • @Sosage
      @Sosage Рік тому +4

      @@daisymay6819 We get it a lot in east London, disproportionately so for a so-called first world country. It's a result of extreme poverty and extreme population density here. People think TB is just something experienced in a far-off land, but it's not. Luckily things are improving here, but it's only because we're a rich country that has resources to spare. It's pitiful that we live in 2023 and still, companies try to/are allowed to destroy the lives of people with the luck of being born in a financially poorer country.

    • @swift-pawedteif386
      @swift-pawedteif386 11 місяців тому +1

      I actually caught it. Supposedly it was due to immunization suppression drugs for psoriasis.

    • @Sweetlyfe
      @Sweetlyfe 11 місяців тому

      @@swift-pawedteif386 You poor thing it must have been awful, hope you’re ok now.

  • @catyroxy740
    @catyroxy740 Рік тому +2557

    As a person with a very weak immune system living in Moldova ( one of the countries mentioned that the drug wont be distributed to) THANK YOU for making this video. Unfortunetely here in Moldova prices keep going up on medicine to the point where you seriously cannot afford them. We cant let big companies capitalize on the health of millions of people so I urge everyone to PLEASE listen and send letters to j&j, otherwise so many people will have to suffer , we already live in a poor country, people need access to health care

    • @asdfguiwsertyuio3689
      @asdfguiwsertyuio3689 Рік тому +36

      I live in Australia with multiple chronic illnesses at age 24 and I know how lucky I am to have rebated access to all specialist doctors I require and also only pay $6.30 per script for my life-saving medicine. If I didn't have this privilege and I was in your position I would be in a serious amount of pain and rendered functionally and physically completely disabled and unable to have any kind of life outside my bed.
      I'm so sorry this isn't your experience. Access to the healthcare every/any human requires should be a human-right and it makes me furious that that isn't the case. People here complain when they have to wait more than 30mins for a doctors appointment! They don't stop and think how lucky they are to have access to a doctor at all and that makes me furious too.
      I wish I could help you and I wish things were different. I know I'm just a random stranger but my heart genuinely aches for you. I sincerely hope things get better for you as soon as possible. Hang in there and keep fighting ♥

    • @catyroxy740
      @catyroxy740 Рік тому +26

      @@asdfguiwsertyuio3689 i also have a lot of chronic pain and it's so weird because a lot of doctors don't even acknowledge it, or blame it on weight / me being a girl or hormonal issues, we have limited access on medicine overall and most people here have a very: you're always in pain because you're lazy mentality ( since we're a post Sovietic URSS country) older people are very pro work all the time and never complain. I'm lucky my parents are understanding but I'm not complaining here, I'm just sharing a point of view since you're probably not that familiar with it. Thank you so much for your kind words + sharing your experience , just because you're a position of privilege doesn't mean you're at fault at all, you're still in pain and you're still struggling, it's not fair to compete for who's in a worse position , I also hope you'll be better and keep fighting 💛

    • @aratosm
      @aratosm Рік тому

      Americans should not be subsidizing medicine for the 3rd world. If you don't want to pay, you obviously don't need it enough.

    • @Elisadoesstuff
      @Elisadoesstuff Рік тому +11

      Holy shit a fellow moldovan

    • @yammmit
      @yammmit Рік тому +2

      honestly in my opinion that sounds like a skill issue for you. the weak are not meant to survive

  • @Tesserex
    @Tesserex Рік тому +3151

    I will never understand how a CEO sitting in a comfortable office somewhere can make a unilateral decision that effectively condemns millions of other people to death and not feel some kind of way about it.

    • @luckyshark32
      @luckyshark32 Рік тому +549

      The people that become CEOs are chosen for exactly that - to prioritize stock price over all costs.

    • @jayspeidell
      @jayspeidell Рік тому +385

      That's why the so many sociopaths and psychopaths make it into executive leadership roles. Shareholders have their hands clean and just need maximum profits, and the system naturally promotes people without empathy towards other humans.

    • @abelabel3664
      @abelabel3664 Рік тому +229

      CEOs are selected to give shareholders as much profit as possible. Those who have the stomach to climb the corporate ladder have way larger chances of success if they are selfish and egotistical. Our systems are shite.

    • @shakeyj4523
      @shakeyj4523 Рік тому +176

      Dr Hare, who created the Psychopath inventory predicted this a couple of decades ago. It turn out that corporations got the bright (sarcasm) Idea that people who were psychopaths were better at business because they were ruthless. So they started to use his inventory to select FOR psychopathy, instead of using it as he intended and weed it out. As a result, this type of behavior has increased as these people were promoted to the top of their fields. Now Psychopaths tend to self select for business, so it did not cause it, but it means that we have MANY more psychopaths in top positions than we otherwise would have. And these corporations are considered people, and are also running politics. And Dr Hare predicted a lot of this.

    • @MrMighty147
      @MrMighty147 Рік тому +14

      Psychopaths

  • @tired_s1oth
    @tired_s1oth Рік тому +33

    I became a pharmacy technician a couple years ago... learning how these companies can pull this ish both blew my mind and made me cry. When a drug is made, the creators get to be called the "name brand" and get to have YEARS of the market before generics can be made. It's sickening.

  • @melissasingleton58
    @melissasingleton58 Рік тому +39

    As someone working in healthcare in the US, I have seen patients with active TB infections twice in the past year (one of whom had not been outside the US in over 20 years). It’s easy to think that people just don’t get it here. That it’s not going to affect us. But trust me, TB does still make its way here. If we don’t fight it now, we will end up, like John said, with a very nasty pandemic on our hands

  • @bea-i-guess
    @bea-i-guess Рік тому +2837

    Slightly related note: this is an issue spanning further than this, insulin was LITERALLY made to be as cheap as humanly possible to manufacture, it costs so so soso little to make, and yet, this medicine that can save lives is being hoarded by one company, and the price is high because profits wouldn't be high without it.
    We need to get rid of private patents for medicine

    • @bman5257
      @bman5257 Рік тому +81

      I think this might be going too far, because if you create no IP-protection for these drugs you will strongly disincentivize the creation of these drugs. Hopefully we can find a middle path that incentivizes drug creation to fight diseases that don’t have a drug while also preventing situations where surplus profits are able to be chosen over people’s lives.

    • @TheSwauzz
      @TheSwauzz Рік тому +276

      @@bman5257 The incentive is still there if companies are making money, which they would be even if you cut prices by 50%. The issue isn't the profit for me, the issue is why is so much excess profit necessary? Especially when we find out that those excess profits are actually NOT being put back into research. Why do company heads need to make 1000% more than the lab techs? Why is it normalized that we think certain jobs are exponentially more important than others in the same company? Each piece of the puzzle is needed to complete the picture, right? But greed is the ultimate factor, and it's supported by current practices in this country.

    • @tablelegz
      @tablelegz Рік тому +20

      I believe biden stated he had plans for cost reduction of insulin not sure on the current status but one can hope

    • @daveythehand4964
      @daveythehand4964 Рік тому +20

      The idea is to increase competition. Right now, there is little competition in most medicine. This is no bueno.

    • @cwelch7010
      @cwelch7010 Рік тому

      @@bman5257getting rid of ip law especially when it applies to medicine will not remove the incentive to innovate. Despite profit motive as a driver of change being a thoroughly debunked idea in many sectors it is even less applicable to medicine. An enormous amount of medical research is publicly funded and governments, especially the us, have the money to pay for the continued research and production of medicines to the benefit of millions of people. People have an innate desire to be productive and to help each other, without profit the people actually responsible for the research and production (the scientists, doctors, etc) would continue to produce and innovate. The only result of the profit motive in the medical sector is a few major companies withholding affordable lifesaving medication for the sake of growing the wealth of the ceo and shareholders.

  • @abeasmr
    @abeasmr Рік тому +2614

    Filed a report. This is truly appalling. Thank you for keeping us informed about this kind of stuff, John! For those that are confused about how to complain, these are the steps I took:
    Go to first link in description> First two boxes are your country> Pick pharmaceuticals> Then choose Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Janssen has the patent on bedaquiline)> After agreeing to their terms, I chose the Human Rights category. You could probably pick any of them (specifically, Business Integrity or Patient Safety stand out as applicable options)> You CAN choose to be anon or put in your info> Then type your complaint in the box
    Hope that’s helpful for someone! :)

    • @ameliarosesheppard9007
      @ameliarosesheppard9007 Рік тому +19

      Thanks! I was a bit confused as to which boxes to pick.

    • @untappedinkwell
      @untappedinkwell Рік тому +28

      +++ business Integrity also calls out the Credo by name, specifically, so that's a good one to pick!

    • @BlueUncia
      @BlueUncia Рік тому +19

      I picked "Human rights". Seemed appropriate.

    • @valzo06
      @valzo06 Рік тому +20

      You need to select Pharmaceuticals then Janssen Pharmaceuticals. The consumer division is something different so that would not be appropriate. Appreciate the "Human Rights" category idea!

    • @RainaRamsay
      @RainaRamsay Рік тому +18

      This is very helpful. @vlogbrothers - can you pin this comment? Or a similar one?

  • @esoteric_squid
    @esoteric_squid Рік тому +103

    I am so proud to be part of this community. Thank you John, and thank you other nerdfighters for helping achieve this

  • @AmeliaBell28
    @AmeliaBell28 Рік тому +27

    I have been on a mostly off-the-internet vacation for the last two weeks and I didn't have wifi from Monday until Thursday and I'm IMMENSELY disappointed that I missed Nerdfighteria and its adjacent communities (lead by, of course, the Stop TB Partnership) pressuring J&J into doing the right thing here. But I'm SO amazed that in those few days I was offline, we were able to accomplish such an incredible thing. This community is so incredible and I cannot wait for us to continue harnessing our collective power to decrease massive amounts of worldsuck. DFTBA, y'all ❤

  • @Hillary429
    @Hillary429 Рік тому +660

    Love that John is fully embracing his new CEO confidence to make shit happen

    • @get.the.papers.get.the.papers
      @get.the.papers.get.the.papers Рік тому +59

      Absolutely, I heard him say “as a fellow CEO” and I was like, “damn, it’s about time man’s finally taking his position in stride!”

    • @t3hsis324
      @t3hsis324 Рік тому

      I'm here for it. Sat. I will make sure that I don't buy j&j shit anywhere I can. I will buy STORE BRAND in protest. F you J&J.

    • @gillsmoke
      @gillsmoke Рік тому +19

      Right? It's being thrust into the deep end and finding he's not drowning that got him here.
      May our fight against TB win. We eradicated smallpox there's no reason anyone had to die of TB.

    • @marcellastname6862
      @marcellastname6862 Рік тому +2

      +

    • @crains8087
      @crains8087 Рік тому

      +

  • @flemmingpedersen567
    @flemmingpedersen567 Рік тому +231

    Three weeks ago: "I eh am not great at this CEO stuff."
    This week: "I am a CEO and I will use the combined might of all I possess and the internet itself to crush your puny, multi billion dollar company if you don't seize your selfish greed."
    If it continues like this, they will have a new non-profit medicinal company by the time Hank is ready to return.

  • @constantine5
    @constantine5 Рік тому +66

    You probably will never read this, but THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO HUMANITY!!! ❤Your efforts are admirable beyond words. YOU used your platform for a selfless and incredibly worthy cause that gets far too little attention and in turn have arguably saved potentially millions of lives. It may not be perfect but it’s a major battle won. You got the ball rolling and the tides have turned. I stand ready as a loyal nerdfighter to continue this ongoing fight.

  • @SubXero1000
    @SubXero1000 Рік тому +38

    John, I served you and some of the Crash Course folks a few years ago in Theater 1 at Flix (nerding out and not able to list everything I'm a fan of). At the time, I felt like I couldn't find the words to express how much you and Hank have inspired my own younger brother and I, as well as so many others. To the same extent, I was dumbfounded to see on Philly D that this video and its viewers had made such a profound impact in ONLY 2 DAYS!!! Just had to stop by again to spread encouragement and support the movement!!

  • @LisaRuns
    @LisaRuns Рік тому +552

    Johnson and Johnson make my blood boil. Their role in the vaginal mesh scandal is also infuriating and heartbreaking. We are with you John.

    • @MuzikBike
      @MuzikBike Рік тому +72

      Weren't they also behind cancerous baby powder?

    • @spwashi
      @spwashi Рік тому +19

      @@MuzikBike I hadn't watched the video yet but assumed this was the topic, damn

    • @bluebaconjake405
      @bluebaconjake405 Рік тому

      @@MuzikBike i think so! Put asbestos baby powder on shelves and acted like nothing happened when thousands of people are suffering cancer from it. Insane how these giant pharmaceutical companies are killing millions of people and are still doing it to this day

    • @amandalynch9567
      @amandalynch9567 Рік тому

      ​​@@MuzikBike yes they were! They hid the knowledge that it caused cancer and even continued to push marketing toward minorities! 😡 I know one of the lawyers who is sending financial retribution for the victims.

    • @femkevanwageningen6068
      @femkevanwageningen6068 Рік тому

      ​@@MuzikBikethe Nesle powder?

  • @c_lee_mason
    @c_lee_mason Рік тому +855

    I work in clinical research and am connected to one of their executive medical directors. I sent them a ping to see who on the inside I can speak with regarding this. I also submitted regarding the violation of their credo.
    Keep up the good fight. I am so thankful people like John exist in the world to rally people together for the health of everyone.

  • @akmonra
    @akmonra Рік тому +12

    This is what I love about John. You don't just rant about how bad things are, but actually take actionable steps to try to meaningfully change things.

    • @akmonra
      @akmonra Рік тому

      @@elmastro-ye9lw why? They succeeded. Didn't you get the memo?

  • @catherinetestaverde1907
    @catherinetestaverde1907 11 місяців тому +8

    At the beginning of the video I was thinking "What can I do to help? Where's the call to action!?" And moments later he said "And that's where we come in nerdfighteria!"
    Thank you John for using your platform to fight the good fight. Let's save some lives!!!

  • @aceface8877
    @aceface8877 Рік тому +238

    I am inclined to say that having the ability to save millions of lives and then not doing that because it is less lucrative is by definition monstrous. J&J sure has a lot of products

    • @Praisethesunson
      @Praisethesunson Рік тому

      It's almost like capitalist accumulation results in a handful of mega corporations owning the majority of products.

    • @francinesmith1889
      @francinesmith1889 Рік тому +5

      J&J, along with Walmart, Verizon, and many many other companies also use prison labor for the manufacturing of their products.

  • @michaelseals8944
    @michaelseals8944 Рік тому +241

    I hate phone calls but I just got off the line with a very nice young lady who took my complaint! Thank you for being so passionate about this issue and informing your community, hopefully they listen

  • @amywelsh8225
    @amywelsh8225 Рік тому +4

    Wow! John, it’s wonderful to see how easily you and your brother can use your influence for good. Johnson and Johnson was avoiding bad press when their greed was spotlighted.
    I prefer to thank you for shining the light on the problem.
    Thank you!!!!

  • @worldsbestgravy1324
    @worldsbestgravy1324 Рік тому +6

    THIS is an influencer! Influencing should be more like this. Thank you for using your platform for this issue!

  • @ryanrowe9559
    @ryanrowe9559 Рік тому +572

    I nearly lost my mother to a cancer attributed to their products. I hold no love for corporations like them, and we must hold them accountable.

    • @rachelhansen2417
      @rachelhansen2417 Рік тому +32

      Just out of curiosity, and if you don’t mind my asking, was it the baby powder?

    • @notpublic8961
      @notpublic8961 Рік тому

      @@rachelhansen2417 I'm no J&J fan, but there is no evidence talc causes cancer. Go look it up at the American Cancer Society. We just like to assign a boogey-man to unfortunate events. Just like what's happened with anti-vaxxers believing vaccines cause autism. Just delusion. Nothing more.

    • @ryanrowe9559
      @ryanrowe9559 Рік тому +10

      @rachelhansen2417 You are correct.

    • @super_slo
      @super_slo Рік тому +11

      Yeah, I thought their reputation was already in the garbage after it came out they knew about the baby powder and kept selling it anyway.

  • @dr_slytha
    @dr_slytha Рік тому +787

    Submitted a complaint online. Was a pretty simple process to do, and will encourage my friends and family to also make their voices heard. Thanks for making this video and spreading the word!

    • @fatal_pastry1176
      @fatal_pastry1176 Рік тому +5

      Where did you submit it, if I may ask?

    • @kimi485
      @kimi485 Рік тому +14

      Do you mind telling me how you did it and what you typed? I tried to do so through the link in the description, but it wasn’t letting me submit it due to needing specifics like date and location.

    • @imaginaryguide1895
      @imaginaryguide1895 Рік тому

      Same! I just didn't answer specific date & location boxes. If you need to, maybe put the secondary patent date?

    • @moontravellerjul
      @moontravellerjul Рік тому +26

      these are the selections i made before reaching the complaint form; it was a few drop down menus and a big open text box; no specific date and time fields or such, so try this if you get stuck:
      [Choose a market]
      your market: you choose
      market where concern occurred: United States
      sector related to concern: corporate
      region where violation occurred: US/PR
      company related to concern: JJ World Headquarters US
      [Category]
      Human Rights

    • @ShadowTheFosterCat
      @ShadowTheFosterCat Рік тому +1

      I got stuck on page 1/4, where they ask for information about the market/region. There was no way to navigate to the other pages. Did you run into that issue?

  • @Vic-ek1fv
    @Vic-ek1fv Рік тому +3

    John, I’m thankful for you, your work and your compassionate heart. As someone from one of those poor countries, THANK YOU

  • @alexanderfloyd5099
    @alexanderfloyd5099 Рік тому +3

    From the future: We won! Great job John!! Your righteous rage is what this world needs.
    Much appreciation from a fellow Hoosier.

  • @kuntamdc
    @kuntamdc Рік тому +361

    First time I've ever filed a report on a corporation. Thanks for providing the information John.

    • @tylerpixel
      @tylerpixel Рік тому +1

      Also remember to get your booster as well from the same company!

    • @GTaichou
      @GTaichou Рік тому

      @@tylerpixel Nah, if you were paying attention you'd know J&J doesn't make the bivalent -- which is the dose you WANT. Get out of here, troll

    • @okokayay
      @okokayay Рік тому

      You all have to understand that this is not the right way, because it's without a doubt completely useless.

    • @merelha5930
      @merelha5930 Рік тому +11

      ​@@okokayay I mean, not doing anything will be even more useless. At the very very least people will know that it is a problem and the company will know that people aren't happy about it

    • @toryevanss4512
      @toryevanss4512 Рік тому +2

      @@okokayay What is the right way?

  • @reinamiranova8792
    @reinamiranova8792 Рік тому +666

    As a lab scientist who is preparing to be proficient in testing TB, thank you for sharing this information. This is abhorrent.

    • @tammystockley-loughlin7680
      @tammystockley-loughlin7680 Рік тому +7

      Thanks for doing what you do. Positive vibes from New Hampshire, remember to be kind to each other and yourself during these trying times.

    • @genericyoutubeaccount579
      @genericyoutubeaccount579 Рік тому +1

      All the Vaccine corporations robbed you blind for a placebo.

    • @cjgroom109
      @cjgroom109 Рік тому +2

      This is corporate capitalism

    • @PTSD_Guts
      @PTSD_Guts Рік тому +1

      @@tammystockley-loughlin7680 Would saying 'positive' vibes to someone who tests biological samples mean the same xD

    • @asdfguiwsertyuio3689
      @asdfguiwsertyuio3689 Рік тому

      @@aleks-wy6uf You're wanting the pills to stay at a price that will kill millions of people? I sincerely hope I misinterpreted your comment mate.

  • @clockworkkirlia7475
    @clockworkkirlia7475 11 місяців тому +4

    This is a truly beautiful effort. Thank you, John, and everyone who saw this and made a difference.

  • @samuelnoble5478
    @samuelnoble5478 Рік тому +6

    Surgical in your precision here, I really wish more content creators were this bold, direct, and (hopefully) effective in their advocacy and work

  • @iHATEFORCE
    @iHATEFORCE Рік тому +317

    I contracted TB while deployed to Iraq in 2007 while in the military. Once back stateside, I had 2 positive PPD skin tests and was diagnosed. Thankfully it was detected while still dormant. I took INH for 9 months and was declared cured. However, this news was still scary even though I was in the US and had access to free healthcare through the military. I cannot imagine the fear and anguish of contracting TB without access to these benefits. People in the US are shocked I had TB because it is so rare here.

    • @RaiyanAhmedLoL
      @RaiyanAhmedLoL Рік тому +2

      do you regret being in Iraq?

    • @koalatydm
      @koalatydm Рік тому +6

      ​@@RaiyanAhmedLoL for the love of... soldiers don't have a say in where they're deployed. Don't ask the soldiers whether they feel regret over being in Iraq, ask the people who deployed them there and the people who chose to lie to the public about "weapons of mass destruction".

    • @iHATEFORCE
      @iHATEFORCE Рік тому

      @@RaiyanAhmedLoL yes. There was no point in the US invading Iraq.

  • @schwaar
    @schwaar Рік тому +442

    For those wanting to submit a form online, here is a copy and paste for the "issue" dialogue box:
    "I implore you not to evergreen the patent on the TB drug bedaquiline, as doing so will deny millions of people access to live-saving treatment, and is a violation of your corporate credo. Thank you."

    • @marie6226
      @marie6226 Рік тому +6

      Thanks!

    • @Just_Loves_Music
      @Just_Loves_Music Рік тому +11

      Thank you! (Extra helpful in case English isn't your first language)

    • @solongthanksforallthefish3721
      @solongthanksforallthefish3721 Рік тому +42

      I am not sure if UA-cam will allow me to share a link here, but you can also paste exactly this into the Credo Integrity Line (their Ethics complaint division, link at the very bottom of their home page). There are more dedicated resources to reviewing the complaints there - speaking as a former contractor for J&J.

    • @em.1433
      @em.1433 Рік тому

      Thank you both!

    • @mick3199
      @mick3199 Рік тому

      Thank you for this!!

  • @jacobpickell878
    @jacobpickell878 Рік тому +2

    it’s awesome you give this such a large platform. i was outraged when i learned about this patent and cost abuse within my medicinal chemistry classes and it’s a system that for some reason gets entirely ignored.

  • @lauradennis6985
    @lauradennis6985 11 місяців тому +1

    Preach!! 🙌 People aren’t paying attention to what’s happening right in front of us.

  • @Vega921
    @Vega921 Рік тому +1145

    My great grandmother died of tuberculosis just a few years before penicillin became available and my grandma’s first memories are of being held up to the sanitarium window to wave to her mother. It’s heartbreaking to know that this same story could be repeated with children’s first memories being waving to their dying mothers just a few years before a patent expires that would mean they could have afforded to live.

    • @sally2578
      @sally2578 Рік тому +13

      Thanks for sharing that story. My children’s grandfather died young, in the 60s, of TB that did not respond to the treatments available in his days. They say he was a wonderful man that did not get to raise his children. The stories of the visits to the sanatorium are very touching. Thinking that scenario and others just as sad are happening all over the world but could be avoided is heartbreaking. Joining the campaign to make J&J aware of the opinion of those who care.

    • @sophierobinson2738
      @sophierobinson2738 Рік тому +5

      My grandmother’s brother was in the sanitarium in Eddyville, KY, with TB. He was well enough to be allowed to come outside and sit at the far end of a picnic table to visit with us. A month later he was declared well and went home.

    • @hugbloom2664
      @hugbloom2664 Рік тому +2

      I'm sorry that your family carries that heartbreaking story. And I agree with you. All for profits ??🤯

    • @FlyingTurtle111
      @FlyingTurtle111 Рік тому +1

      +

  • @NOABeeBiss
    @NOABeeBiss Рік тому +296

    Hello Mr. John Green, I don't normally comment and I am making a shot in the dark even writing this, but thank you for this video. As someone who had a parent suffer from TB and survived, it was hell for them to even go through. I don't remember whenever my father had it because I was barely two years old, but my mother (who was pregnant with my younger sibling) recalled that doctors had to quarantine him from both me and my mother. She also recalled how he was coughing up blood and was close to death on multiple occasions. Thank you once again for making this, I appreciate your strong and justifiable anger to J&J.

    • @NOABeeBiss
      @NOABeeBiss Рік тому +1

      @@stardust86x It is my pleasure. My father was privileged to receive medication since we're from what is considered a "rural" area, and he is alive despite TB impacting his lungs. I'm sorry to hear that you aunt died from it, and I hope your dad is living his best life.

  • @natsbigworld
    @natsbigworld Рік тому +2

    I think this will go down in history as the best vlogbrothers video ever posted by the channel

  • @quaxo1
    @quaxo1 Рік тому +6

    Thank you, John. Your actions, drawing attention to this, is bringing change. It's just a start, but it's a step in the right direction. The world needs more people like you and Hank.

  • @robotowl42
    @robotowl42 Рік тому +889

    My mom used to do home Healthcare for TB patients, it's a truly awful disease. The fact that J&J values their money more than human lives is deplorable. Hopefully something will be done to fix this problem, and eventually the systems that encourage problems like it.

    • @Praisethesunson
      @Praisethesunson Рік тому +10

      Valuing profit over human lives is the American system at this point

    • @dangerousdays2052
      @dangerousdays2052 Рік тому +12

      @@Praisethesunson Complaining about capitalism while pretending capitalism isn't the actual problem is the most American thing ever.

    • @TheSyntheticSnake
      @TheSyntheticSnake Рік тому +3

      ... You do realise they legally can't do otherwise? They are required to maximise shareholder value and if they don't they can be sued by the shareholders, don't blame them as a single actor, it's the entire economic system

    • @hagoryopi2101
      @hagoryopi2101 Рік тому +1

      How do you continue providing a service if you can't recuperate the resources necessary to fund that service? Why do people act like pursuing profit is a frivilous choice which only cartoonishly evil people could make to deliberately hurt others, rather than a necessary choice all people try to make in one way or another (including you, if you make any effort to sustain yourself) to mitigate the impact which natural scarcity has on their life, their goals, and the service they can provide to others?

    • @kaycee1076
      @kaycee1076 Рік тому +3

      ​@@hagoryopi2101they're pursuing a profit from the one group of people who cannot give them it, and from a purely business perspective they are possibly losing 6 million lifetime customers of all their other products in doing so.
      It doesn't make sense to maintain the patent from a moral, ethical, personal, professional, reputational or general business perspective.

  • @Emme-Kappa
    @Emme-Kappa Рік тому +125

    I've been working in J&J in Prague for the EMEA sector for almost a year now. I love the job and I've met really amazing colleagues here. I sadly also know this company was responsible in the past for not exactly the most positive behaviour... think of the opioids crisis of the 2000s, to make a really basic example.
    I didn't know this was going on until this video John, so I'll try my best in making my voice heard, despite being nothing but the smallest gear in a colossal pharmaceutical engine.
    Also, amazing that you referenced Our Credo! :D That is something that as an employee I was told on my very first day to always keep into count... so of course I will try my best to make it so that those words are something that my company can live up to.
    Lots of love for you and Hank!

  • @dia9491
    @dia9491 11 місяців тому +1

    You’re amazing John. Thank you for fighting this bs.

  • @honrablmsj
    @honrablmsj Рік тому +1

    Done and done. Thank you for amplifying this and giving us easy actions to make, to hopefully save millions of lives.

  • @riareanne
    @riareanne Рік тому +58

    This is so frustrating, LET THE POLITE RAGING BEGIN

  • @OneDollarWilliam
    @OneDollarWilliam Рік тому +218

    "We believe our first responsibility is to the patients..." except where that conflicts with our fiduciary responsibility to our shareholders, because we live in a crazy upside down country where it's a crime to make slightly less money for investors, but negligent genocide is A-OK.

    • @Praisethesunson
      @Praisethesunson Рік тому

      When people tell you our options as a species are either socialism or barbarism.
      This corporate lead death of millions for the sake of profits J&J does not need, is the barbarism. Make no mistake. Those barbarians are already inside your house trying to plunder your mind, body, and spirit.

    • @ryanwise50
      @ryanwise50 Рік тому +2

      If you can't afford a drug, you're not a patient.
      Though the old version of the drug will still be available as a cheap generic. So this video (and most complaints about patent 'evergreening') are at least a little dishonest.
      Either the new patent offers some genuine benefit in which case you get effectively tiered pricing (but not denial of treatment) or the new patent offers no benefit in which case the problem is corrupt doctors.

    • @ernesto906
      @ernesto906 Рік тому +4

      i came to write exactly this, the first responsibility of any shareholder driven company is to their shareholders.

    • @amandakennedy8088
      @amandakennedy8088 Рік тому +2

      “Negligent”

    • @DDd-gm8uz
      @DDd-gm8uz Рік тому +7

      Almost as if it's a hollow corporate slogan with no appreciable relation to reality. 🤔

  • @gbluesky4264
    @gbluesky4264 Рік тому +1

    Thank you for your tremendous courage and dedication

  • @sxerosie
    @sxerosie Рік тому

    Thank you for using your platform for important issues ❤👏🏽

  • @get.the.papers.get.the.papers
    @get.the.papers.get.the.papers Рік тому +418

    My girls and I all have been waiting for this so we sat down together to watch. From the first moment you grabbed the captive attention of my 9 year old and she’s looking at me with such wide eyes and now she keeps pulling on my sleeve asking me how we can fix this.
    Edit: she just went and grabbed a notepad because she wants to write an angry letter to “those bosses” because they should know that people are worth more than money. I love her so much. Not only are you changing the world now, you’re helping create a more empathetic generation, John.

    • @vlogbrothers
      @vlogbrothers  Рік тому +207

      Glad I resisted the urge to curse :) Tell her to submit a report! -John

    • @HolaMindy
      @HolaMindy Рік тому +39

      This comment brought me to tears. I remember being that kind of little girl.

    • @get.the.papers.get.the.papers
      @get.the.papers.get.the.papers Рік тому +63

      @@vlogbrothersshe read this over my shoulder and then looked me dead in the eyes with such confidence and said, “oh, we’re definitely doing that. Go get your computer.” I think she’s committed to this now, you’ve created an advocate, and I couldn’t be happier.

    • @IthinkIneedAhug
      @IthinkIneedAhug Рік тому +8

      Your kid sounds so cool 💖

    • @ryno4ever433
      @ryno4ever433 Рік тому +23

      Don't ever allow her to become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of issues. It can feel unfixable, but teach her to be strong.

  • @superdancenerd
    @superdancenerd Рік тому +121

    Johnson and Johnson has done SO MUCH HARM over the years, it is truly insane to me how they still exist as a company with so much power. I'm 100% behind you John, let's force them to do some good for once!

    • @vazywazzy5023
      @vazywazzy5023 Рік тому +1

      They exist because doing these kinds of things is what helps a company amass massive amounts of power that it can use to eliminate competition and lobby for more favourable laws.
      When the system rewards these sorts of practices, it is inevitable that a company will use them because it effectively punishes those who don't.

  • @mouse6210
    @mouse6210 Рік тому +2

    We need more of this kind of sharp intervention. Well done Vlog brothers ♥️🧠💪

  • @Cam-xw9ui
    @Cam-xw9ui Рік тому

    Thank-you for everything that you do, you’re informative, caring and principled. Never change.

  • @EmmaCruises
    @EmmaCruises Рік тому +469

    ‘They think they can get away with this because they think we’re not paying attention’ 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
    I’ve recently started fundraising for a fabulous charity called MercyShips and being part of the vlogbrothers community for many years has showed me that a platform like this can do immense good. 🙏❤️

    • @conniebruckner8190
      @conniebruckner8190 Рік тому

      ❤❤💖💖 TY!

    • @treblemaker33
      @treblemaker33 Рік тому +2

      EMMA IS A NERDFIGHTERI??? This is the collab of a lifetime ❤

    • @EmmaCruises
      @EmmaCruises Рік тому +1

      @@treblemaker33 OF COURSE!! ;D

    • @ScarryGargoyle
      @ScarryGargoyle Рік тому +1

      So happy to see you here! Thanks for the help! Let’s all come together.

    • @EmmaCruises
      @EmmaCruises Рік тому +4

      @@ScarryGargoyle Woohoo! I definitely had lots of people telling me 'don't put that video about that charity on your channel that'll destroy the momentum etc etc' but then I think well, Hank and John do it brilliantly, I'll try! Glad we did!! 🥰

  • @orca21fernando
    @orca21fernando Рік тому +1

    My faith in humanity is hanging on my a thread because of people like you. Thankyou.

  • @maaz1931
    @maaz1931 11 місяців тому +1

    Thank youuuu for talking about this!!

  • @sunitinelson5564
    @sunitinelson5564 Рік тому +556

    This problem plagues pretty much all American pharmaceutical companies and it is NOT OKAY. As a person with chronic illness this is something I think about everyday and I hope more people start to pay attention to pharmacy companies abusing public interest! Patients can't be the only ones who care about this.

    • @racerx4152
      @racerx4152 Рік тому +1

      our country has been forsaking judao/ christian values for a long time, and it's negatively effecting every part of life.

    • @OrangeCat1992
      @OrangeCat1992 Рік тому +5

      Yep. Unfortunately, basically no-one cares until they get chronically ill. My disease is one of the top thre most expensive to treat in the US. More expensive than most cancers, and I’ve had it for 31 years.

    • @falcoperegrinus82
      @falcoperegrinus82 Рік тому

      This problem is called "capitalism".

    • @eskybakzu712
      @eskybakzu712 Рік тому +2

      @@racerx4152 Funny. I'll redirect you the Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

    • @alaina4070
      @alaina4070 Рік тому +1

      ​@racerx4152 No, it didn't. If anything the U.S. has gotten better by forsaking those beliefs. Far more queer people can be out without the fear of all of society not accepting them at all. (There's still a lot of queerphobia and issues but it's far better now.)
      Racism isn't as bad. (Christianity in the U.S. is forever mixed with white supermercy.)
      Purity culture has only ever hurt people and especially women.

  • @MaryCo11
    @MaryCo11 Рік тому +108

    Just filed my complaint with J&J at ethics point. Thanks so much for making me aware of this! Will always fight against evergreen patents as a type one diabetic with need of insulin I have been personally victimized. But this cannot happen to TB patients!

    • @LenaFerrari
      @LenaFerrari Рік тому +7

      Agreed. This can't happen to anyone. It's a violation of human rights imo

    • @LenaFerrari
      @LenaFerrari Рік тому +3

      @@elmastro-ye9lw if I boycott everyone who sell their products, I can't buy medicine anymore. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure every pharmacy/drugstore where I live sells their products

  • @isaacperry426
    @isaacperry426 10 місяців тому +1

    Thank you for all the good you do in the world.

  • @BrokeNdisAbled
    @BrokeNdisAbled Рік тому +11

    Tysm for using your platform to support ppl who need pharmaceuticals! (My partner was on a trial…long story short: it helps spinal cord injuries! Yet…was only approved in another country; he breaks my heart b/c that was the ONLY THING that helped and I can see he’s given up hope about the only medicine that helped.
    I have SO MANY stories… tysm for this video.

  • @1_Jesse_1
    @1_Jesse_1 Рік тому +278

    It is honestly astonishing how we continue to let people die by the millions because we wanna make some extra money. We NEED to be better, and I hope we will be. Thank you John

    • @anniedaynoww
      @anniedaynoww Рік тому

      It's not we? It is always the same people, the wealth hoarders at the top who rake in hundreds of millions while pricing sick people out of life.

    • @heehoopeanut420
      @heehoopeanut420 Рік тому +11

      For real, we the average people, aren't even profiting off of this. Only the big wigs in charge are. A handle full of people getting rich off of letting people die😔.

    • @Jake-Day
      @Jake-Day Рік тому +2

      Blame the Government. They’re the ones who allow this and enforce it.

    • @bigkirbyhj666
      @bigkirbyhj666 Рік тому +4

      @@Jake-Day Blame the american people for it is their will that keeps things the way it is.

    • @gabotron94
      @gabotron94 Рік тому +1

      It's not "we" (as in humanity)... it's the greedy few

  • @foundationsmedicalinformat2420
    @foundationsmedicalinformat2420 Рік тому +397

    Submitted my review to their company site. For anyone wondering, it only takes about 4 minutes. 👍🏼
    For anyone who doesn’t have the time to type, feel free to copy/paste my statement in your report:
    “The current Johnson & Johnson plan to evergreen its patent on TB medication Bedaquiline represents a monumental breach of company values. Despite J&J’s commitment to its patients, this decision will undoubtedly lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of them.
    I sincerely hope that voices of reason and compassion for humanity prevail in this situation so that Johnson & Johnson can once again be viewed as an organization which puts its patients first.”

  • @CurlyChrizz
    @CurlyChrizz 11 місяців тому +1

    Thanks for doing this! Great job!

  • @april9337
    @april9337 11 місяців тому +1

    Thank you for making this known

  • @filibusterfirework74
    @filibusterfirework74 Рік тому +43

    I used to work at Unilever so therefore have a lot of former colleagues who now work at JnJ. I will be sure to pass this along ❤️ Cause as a former employee of a large company one of my favorite activities is dismantling atrocities from the inside 😏

  • @LoveNishka
    @LoveNishka Рік тому +165

    This is new. I’m a medical student in Nepal, where Tuberculosis still runs rampant and almost every household has a patient suffering from TB or has a history of TB sometime in the past. Yet, we haven’t even been taught about this drug, forget prescribing it to patients! The antitubercular regimen currently being followed has showed large amounts of resistance and let alone being able to buy this medicine it isn’t even talked about and is placed as the last resort in the national guidelines!

    • @BeautifulEarthJa
      @BeautifulEarthJa Рік тому +3

      Dang

    • @adde9506
      @adde9506 Рік тому +1

      Well, it sounds like it might only take sharing this video for an entire country to be breathing down j&js neck.

    • @phoenix9531
      @phoenix9531 Рік тому +1

      Wow. You seem to have an internet connection to watch videos, so it does surprise me that if it's such a common disease this treatment seems to be unknown there, when googling it once should give you that answer.

    • @LoveNishka
      @LoveNishka Рік тому

      @@phoenix9531definitely! I meant to focus on the fact that even if it’s on the national guidelines, this drug isn’t offered here or isn’t easily available

  • @tinyninjakarate2440
    @tinyninjakarate2440 Рік тому

    You are an awesome person, thank you so much for spreading this message and making change happen. You are making this world a better place ❤

  • @Olivescat
    @Olivescat Рік тому +1

    Thank you for speaking on this problem and giving us the tools needed to fight back

  • @CDRaff
    @CDRaff Рік тому +50

    The unregulated monetization of modern medicine is such a horrible thing.

    • @hastyscorpion
      @hastyscorpion Рік тому +1

      What? It is regulated... That is the entire problem. What do you think a patent is?

    • @trulyUnAssuming
      @trulyUnAssuming Рік тому

      Patents exist because no one came up with a better idea for a system to reward research. If you don't have patents and your competitors can just sell your goods at cost you have no way to recover the research cost. If you have a reasonable idea for a different system an economics nobel prize is probably waiting for you. (No, let the state pay for it is not a system, because who then decides which research proposals get funded - not all of them can be funded)

  • @rachelmtree
    @rachelmtree Рік тому +377

    i suffer from lung disease, treateable but non-curable. in fact i am once again hospitaized for an exacerabation right now. if i knew there was a drug that could save me i would never stop yelling until everyone had access. thank you for this information, for having such an important special interest, and for caring so much about your fellow humans. you and your brother are true examples of everyday heroes and we are a much richer population because you share yourselves with the world.

    • @AnnikaAwsome
      @AnnikaAwsome Рік тому +6

      This is such a beautiful comment. I hope your hospitalization is as comfortable as possible and that you're able to return home soon!

    • @sarahvnyc
      @sarahvnyc Рік тому +10

      Americans with asthma (another treatable, but noncurable lung disease) have suffered from similar drug price-gouging and evergreening with the most common asthma drugs, including albuterol and advair inhalers. Same kinds of patent loopholes letting them extend patents and prevent generics from going on the market. These companies are only too happy to kill people to make money.
      I hope you get better soon. I know how scary it is not being able to breathe! I'll keep you in my thoughts.

  • @aninagiagoni9025
    @aninagiagoni9025 Рік тому +1

    Thank you, John (and Hank), for drawing attention to problems that need it. And for everything else!

  • @tksm97
    @tksm97 11 місяців тому

    John, thank you for this video. I had no prior exposure to this topic, and you explained so much new information so effectively - I immediately understood the deadliness of TB and the pressing need for generic bedaquilline. I am so hopeful that the deal that has been struck will lead to good things in the future, and that there will be fully worldwide access to generic bedaquilline soon.
    When you first made this video, it showed up on my home page out of the blue. It was the first vlogbrothers video I watched in a bit under a decade - you and Hank were a huge part of my life growing up, and I’ve now begun watching your videos consistently again, which has been an absolute joy!! Thank you for the passion you two have, and the many directions that passion takes you both in ❤️ DFTBA!!

  • @ColinKillick
    @ColinKillick Рік тому +35

    John, could you make an organizational sign-on letter on this issue that other organizations could join? I'm Executive Director of a Disability Rights nonprofit in Boston, and (while our capacity is quite limited) we would gladly add our name to this fight, and I think we'd be far from the only ones.

  • @bigmike-
    @bigmike- Рік тому +52

    I work in advertising. I haven't had the... "pleasure"... of working on anything for J&J, but I've done work for their competitors across dozens of different markets. And... the only compelling case that can be made to them (and any other company that they compete against) is a case of money: Unless people's behaviors *directly* threaten their bottom line, they won't change a thing about their ethics nor their business practices. That's it - that's got to be "the" strategy, because they don't (and won't) care about anything else. They don't care about PR or optics, nor do they care about public sentiment. At this point, they don't even really care about regulatory bodies because they (like their competitors) simply find "creative" ways to grease those wheels - often times outright breaking the law in doing so (which always goes unpunished, because... well, it's the very regulatory bodies they're indirectly bribing that would be the ones responsible to do things about it in the first place).
    At this point, obviously, it becomes hard to say "I'm going to boycott J&J" and then follow through, especially if you're a person who's dependant on their drugs to, you know, live. *But* - in all other instances - if people want to see change, then they need to not only demand change, but show companies like J&J what happens when they *don't* change: Don't buy their products, and don't buy products from companies that are partnered with J&J or utilize J&J somewhere in their supply chain. The more we, collectively, work to threaten their bottom line, the more willing they will be to change their behavior.

    • @tessiepinkman
      @tessiepinkman Рік тому +1

      Right on the money (no pun intended). We have to go after their profit. I haven't touched anything from them in quite a lot of years now, even though they are *huge* in Scandinavia where I live. Most of my friends don't use their products either, but we can only do so much. We need a BIG ass boycott from people who are in a position where they *can* boycott them. I'm not suggesting that people who need their products, and there isn't any generic or otherwise equal product to what they use, should stop taking their medicine. But if there's an equal product to what they are using - SWITCH! (As long as it's truly equal). You don't need those exact wipes, there are hundreds of others. You don't need that exact baby oil, there are hundreds of others, and so on. That's where I stand.

    • @narenkyoPsych
      @narenkyoPsych Рік тому

      EXACTLY.....HURT J&J's pockets and not buy their products immediately over a period of time.....

    • @bigmike-
      @bigmike- Рік тому +1

      @@tessiepinkman exactly. It's also important to boycott their partner companies - that way they lose multiple revenue streams at the same time.

    • @icedirt9658
      @icedirt9658 Рік тому

      Ok well since not only are most drugs sold by them, but also most health and hygiene and wellness products, what I am hearing is I cannot affect their bottom line as they essentially have a monopoly on essentials. I’m also not hearing that it is time for an armed uprising against-and I say this unironically- our corporate overlords. When does that option go on the table?

  • @PotooBurd
    @PotooBurd Рік тому

    This is so important! Thank you for sharing 🌻

  • @surfcoach
    @surfcoach Рік тому

    Thanks for making this. Soooo needed ❤

  • @ayuktamathur8242
    @ayuktamathur8242 Рік тому +460

    Thanks for speaking up about this, John. The work you've done on advocating against this disease, and not just spreading information but taking action is great. The same thing that we see here is what happened during the pandemic too, and it feels like there's not enough attention paid to these things until a chain reaction derailing a lot of people's lives happens.

    • @ilovebirds23
      @ilovebirds23 Рік тому +5

      “during the pandemic” oh i wish i could live in the blissful ignorance you do. look up recent disability figures, long covid and the stigma is a MAJOR. problem

    • @Praisethesunson
      @Praisethesunson Рік тому +3

      There is no attention paid until there is a direct threat posed to our wealthy overlords.
      Then they will take half hearted measures in ways that primarily maintain the status quo.

    • @maddymilnes7540
      @maddymilnes7540 Рік тому

      +

    • @ayuktamathur8242
      @ayuktamathur8242 Рік тому

      @@ilovebirds23 I'm not ignorant, I'm very well aware of the figures. The pandemic was just the most blaring example, and though the same kind of discrimination takes place every single day, the sheer urgency and scale at which this happened, with entire countries which made up huge chunks of population (including mine) being denied certain vaccines due to patents was a huge issue, which only contributed to the spread of the newer variants. It's also the most relevant example considering the fact that John mentioned that this could very well lead to another pandemic. I never insinuated that these things aren't happening now.

  • @HolaMindy
    @HolaMindy Рік тому +15

    Your example of Neosporin is right on. I DO buy name-brand Neosporin over the generic, as I do with Children's Tylenol, because I figure I know who made it-even though I know the generic is probably just as good. I think you've convinced me that maybe I need to rethink that.

  • @pauljohnson271
    @pauljohnson271 11 місяців тому

    God bless you for posting this.

  • @cuearesty
    @cuearesty Рік тому +117

    As someone who survived PTB (it was painful and thought I was gonna died without knowing why breathing feels like drowning), this withholding of access to life-saving measures is INFURIATING.
    J&J IS GONNA HEAR FROM ME.

  • @noviatoria2436
    @noviatoria2436 Рік тому +459

    It's utterly insane that life-saving drugs can be patented at all. They should all be made public domain the second they're discovered

    • @triton62674
      @triton62674 Рік тому +9

      This. Who's to say the researchers at JNJ wouldn't ha r just EAs easily discovered the drug at a public institution?

    • @Kimmie9553
      @Kimmie9553 Рік тому +70

      The whole issue is the discovery part - drug development is CRAZY expensive. There’s a reason that a handful of huge corporations develop the vast majority of drugs. In the US it takes a billion dollars to create a drug and take it to market due to all of the work and safety testing involved, which in other countries is funded by the government/ their version of the FDA, but in the US is funded by the company itself. The ability to patent drugs and sell them for profit is exactly what makes that billion dollar investment worth it. If you remove to ability to patent drugs you remove the incentive for companies to develop drugs at all. I completely agree that this whole system is broken and immoral, but there is no easy fix.

    • @demiserofd
      @demiserofd Рік тому

      Congrats, you've found a way to get no new drugs ever again.
      By far THE most effective way to get new drugs and medicine is the free market, and that requires protections for investment, or nobody will EVER risk developing and testing new drugs ever again.
      You can't fix this with government funds, by the way. Just look at the US military; they pay 10x-100x too much for virtually everything. Trying to shift over to government research would result in a 90-99% loss in efficiency.

    • @mollusckscramp4124
      @mollusckscramp4124 Рік тому

      Exactly, capitalism is the tool of the devil.

    • @susanmiller7560
      @susanmiller7560 Рік тому +20

      @@Kimmie9553 How about government funding for testing, as you say is done elsewhere?

  • @kateystevenson7912
    @kateystevenson7912 11 місяців тому +1

    Thanks for making this

  • @jfye10
    @jfye10 Рік тому

    Thank you for bringing awareness. We need to show that WE CARE. That we pay attention and it matters

  • @tarttooth6022
    @tarttooth6022 Рік тому +201

    DESPITE ALL MY RAGE I'M STILL JUST A NERD IN A CAGE.
    Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Shared and letter sent. Patent laws for life-saving medication and any means of using that medication needs to change. We shouldn't have to appeal to a company's humanity to prevent unnecessary death.

    • @WenzelSays
      @WenzelSays Рік тому +3

      +

    • @CED99
      @CED99 Рік тому +4

      Especially of most or *all* of the funding for research came from public money 💰

    • @mollusckscramp4124
      @mollusckscramp4124 Рік тому +2

      Especially because companies like this have made clear early on that they have no humanity to appeal to. For anyone who remembers either of their asbestos baby product or vaginal mesh scandals, this ain't their first rodeo.

  • @ritalaurennoel4584
    @ritalaurennoel4584 Рік тому +375

    Hi John. I spent a lot of time carefully drafting my complaint and then submitted it via the Credo Integrity complaint portal. Thank you for bringing this situation to the light - as a US taxpayer whose dues were no doubt apportioned to fund the research for this drug, I feel it's time to end Johnson & Johnson's seemingly unnecessary SPP and to allow generics onto the market.

    • @asdfguiwsertyuio3689
      @asdfguiwsertyuio3689 Рік тому +3

      Good on you 👏👏👏❤❤❤

    • @untappedinkwell
      @untappedinkwell Рік тому +4

      Thank you for your support! Our efforts and the efforts of the scientists and patients over at StopTB and the GDF have worked! Announcement came out a few hours ago! The generic versions are going to be made available. 🎉

    • @TheSwauzz
      @TheSwauzz Рік тому +1

      If people looked into the history of these long standing huge conglomerate companies, they would be floored by the amount of horrible business/safety practices and market manipulation to essentially destroy competition. Patents on medications are just the tip of the iceberg imo. I've got some complaints to send in too, for sure.

  • @xxsnow_angelxx3953
    @xxsnow_angelxx3953 Рік тому +1

    Sharing this to more groups and bugging my family about it! Let us have a seldom stand and fast to feel them..

  • @josephmurray370
    @josephmurray370 Рік тому +2

    You guys have the power to start and support movements. Thank you so much for this video. Please keep supporting the disenfranchised, the silenced, please keep using your voice to speak up, and especially to make space, for those whose voices aren't listened to.

  • @BinaryArmorOnline
    @BinaryArmorOnline Рік тому +62

    I think the coolest thing about this is how easy you made it to voice an opinion to J&J for anyone who sees this video. I just submitted a report to them. Thank you for helping me learn how to be a force for good in the world, John!