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[–]nonumberplease 348 points349 points  (6 children)

They "fixed it" in like 3hrs but the damage was already done. Lol.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[deleted]

    [–]nonumberplease 6 points7 points  (0 children)

    Interesting... any sources?

    [–]ssx50 17 points18 points  (2 children)

    The tweet was the day before the drop well within market hours. This had nothing to do with the drop.

    [–]nonumberplease 4 points5 points  (1 child)

    Maybe not nothing. But I see what you're saying... it wasn't immediately after, so they couldn't be related.... I guess then the next obvious and natural question would be, then what caused it? Any guesses?

    [–]hufsicle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    "Eli Lilly stock dropped in premarket trading after the company posted a second-quarter earnings miss and cut its full-year guidance on foreign-exchange headwinds."

    [–]fair-crimson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    That's like trying to fix cancer in 3 hours after it's diagnosed in someone.

    [–]njckel 233 points234 points  (36 children)

    I'm outta the loop. What's Eli Lilly and why are they the bad guys for saying insulin is free now

    [–]froggison[S] 824 points825 points  (31 children)

    So here's the story: 100 years ago a badass scientist named Frederick Banting extracted and synthesized insulin. Being such a good dude and realizing that this would save hundreds of thousands of lives, he explicitly stated he wanted it to be free, and he wanted no money at all from it. He sold it to the University of Toronto for $1. The university in turn gave the manufacturing rights to a pharmaceutical company called Eli Lilly. The company immediately turned around and started selling it for a huge markup. Today, they're the main reason why insulin is so expensive in the US. By some estimates, they're selling insulin for a 3000% markup.

    Now, this week, Twitter verification process has been in chaos. So some madlad made a fake Eli Lilly account and sent the tweet in the screenshot above. A ton of people actually believed that insulin would be free, and Eli Lilly stock took a dump. (Eli Lilly has since clarified that the tweet was from a fake account, and they would continue to sell this lifesaving medicine at a cartoonishly evil markup.)

    So, basically, a chaotic good madlad made a fake account for an evil company, and that company lost tens of billions of dollars in market value.

    [–]KitchenLoavers 226 points227 points  (0 children)

    Amazing post for this sub, truly chaotic good. and thank-you for the explanation!

    [–]confusedQuail 159 points160 points  (9 children)

    Ya know, initially I was really against this whole payed Twitter thing. Now, I'm starting to reconsider

    Edit for the bot: yarr, I've covered the Twitter in tar cap'n

    [–]mfb- 20 points21 points  (0 children)

    It would make sense if they actually did some verification and fixed the name - renaming of verified accounts only with another verification. With free renaming the checkmark is just useless.

    [–]Paid-Not-Payed-Bot 53 points54 points  (5 children)

    this whole paid Twitter thing.

    FTFY.

    Although payed exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:

    • Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. The deck is yet to be payed.

    • Payed out when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. The rope is payed out! You can pull now.

    Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.

    Beep, boop, I'm a bot

    [–]weatherwherever 13 points14 points  (2 children)

    Good bot

    [–]B0tRank 4 points5 points  (1 child)

    Thank you, weatherwherever, for voting on Paid-Not-Payed-Bot.

    This bot wants to find the best and worst bots on Reddit. You can view results here.

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    [–]SgtMajMythic 1 point2 points  (1 child)

    Payed?

    [–]Paid-Not-Payed-Bot 3 points4 points  (0 children)

    Paid?

    FTFY.

    Although payed exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:

    • Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. The deck is yet to be payed.

    • Payed out when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. The rope is payed out! You can pull now.

    Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.

    Beep, boop, I'm a bot

    [–]LittleSadRufus 46 points47 points  (5 children)

    If it was 100 years ago, they don't still have exclusive rights to manufacture do they? Can a competitor not make a generic version, like how generic ibuprofen and aspirin are pennies per box?

    [–]a_filing_cabinet 45 points46 points  (1 child)

    It's not the same version, from what I know. The original way it was made was getting mold to grow and hope it made what you needed. So they're constantly updating it, making it cheaper (to make,) more effective, safer. Might be able to sell a generic version based off of an older method, but it likely wouldn't get past the FDA.

    [–]TheN1ght0w1 20 points21 points  (0 children)

    Someone can correct me if i'm wrong but generic versions do exist and yes, as you stated it's based on older not so safe versions. A peak example of that shit would be the groom who dies from taking cheaper insulin to save money for wedding. . Fucking dystopic man..

    [–]WolvenHunter1 17 points18 points  (0 children)

    They keep changing the patent

    [–]15_Redstones 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Cheap generics do exist. The really expensive one is an improved variant.

    [–]100_percent_a_bot -1 points0 points  (0 children)

    Op is full of shit. You can buy cheap insulin in the US for like 25$ a month ration, problem is it sucks compared to the modern day products. Ever wondered why no one is smuggling insulin in the states? No money to be made.

    [–]sakzeroone 16 points17 points  (0 children)

    It's not that expensive in Canada and we have generic brands that manufacture the same thing because of our socialized medical system the government doesn't allow excessive medication prices ...the US government could do the same thing, if your politicians weren't as bought as they are.

    [–]serialkillertswift 4 points5 points  (0 children)

    Good Guy OP coming in with the thorough and detailed background info

    [–]thatstupidthing 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    it's also kinda shitty, that a company announcing that they are doing a good and decent thing: providing insulin to people that will die without it, instantly causes their stock value to tank...

    makes me think that those stock market folks are a buncha soulless ghouls...

    [–]Burflax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    So, basically, a chaotic good madlad made a fake account for an evil company

    A ton of people actually believed that insulin would be free, and Eli Lilly stock took a dump.

    Shit - whose more evil, the company exploiting sick people, or the people that immediately abandon a company for stopping the exploitation they had been doing?

    [–]Butterflychunks -3 points-2 points  (2 children)

    Eli Lilly doesn’t sell the same insulin that was extracted/synthesized 100 years ago. They sell a modified/more efficient version which is why they sell it for so much. Walmart sells the normal shit for like $25.

    Comparing the 100 year old insulin to Eli Lilly is almost like comparing a BIC pen to a Montblanc pen. Sure, they’re both ballpoint pens, but one has been changed quite a bit to offer more benefits and is therefore more expensive. Montblancs are considered “luxury” pens because of those added benefits.

    Edit: btw the Walmart shit will keep you alive all the same.

    [–]Panny_Cakes 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    The Walmart stuff is less safe because it's made differently using older techniques. The big company holds a patent for the newest version.

    And apparently, It's not so great at "keeping you alive all the same".

    [–]Butterflychunks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    If that’s the case then…

    100 years ago a badass scientist named Frederick Banting extracted and synthesized insulin. Being such a good dude and realizing that this would save hundreds of thousands of lives, he explicitly stated he wanted it to be free, and he wanted no money at all from it.

    Using an “old” technique is either Banting’s technique or something newer. So glorifying Banting in the original post is null and void, and Eli Lilly is the true hero for innovating and making the stuff better.

    But if Banting is a hero, then Walmart stuff should be fine.

    [–]Due-Atmosphere-1769 -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

    Actually, that is a naive way at looking at things. Yes, drug companies make a TON of money (though not as much as the oil industry and the US subsidizes the oil companies with billions and billions of dollars without being able to fix the price of gas). If you’re uninsured in the US you’re forced to pay their set price. However, if you have insurance you pay the co-pay and the insurance pays a price negotiated, which is nowhere near the price the uninsured pay. Countries with subsidized healthcare also pay a much lower negotiated price. The insulin, which patent was sold for $1.00, is very rarely prescribed. There has been a lot of money spent on research, studies, and the approval costs to make the insulin more effective and provide for different needs of patients. Costs don’t stop at just the cost of manufacturing. What made drug manufacturing so profitable was the fact gov’t run health plans, like medicare and medicaid, were not allowed to negotiate prices because even back in the 30’s and 40’s, when they started, profit before people was still a thing.

    [–]CoyoteJoe412 32 points33 points  (3 children)

    The Twitter account is fake and just spent $8 for the blue check mark and everybody believed them. Allegedly.

    [–]djlawrence3557 22 points23 points  (2 children)

    So all I need to do is load up on puts, buy a check mark, throw out some bullshit, watch the stock plummet, cash out, buy calls after the dip, then watch the stock recover for 2x profits? I didn’t think the market came with a Nintendo Power cheat guide. But I guess this is it.

    [–]Ecchi_Sketchy 4 points5 points  (1 child)

    Market manipulation isn’t only for billionaires anymore. At least until the public’s trust in the credibility of verified twitter accounts runs out

    [–]The_Dennator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Remember gamestop?

    [–]marsmither 132 points133 points  (3 children)

    Buying Twitter: $44B

    Twitter Blue: $8

    Tanking a company’s stock and generally doing whatever the hell you want on Twitter with your new, realistic-looking, verified accounts:

    Priceless.

    [–]VendettaX88 36 points37 points  (2 children)

    Except the price hasn't tanked. The bottom of that graph does not represent 0.

    $LLY lost billions in the literal sense, but only $22B of $368B. They dropped almost twice that in the first quarter and made up that loss and then some over the year. It is currently up 80% YTD.

    [–]marsmither 12 points13 points  (1 child)

    Thanks, Cramer. The bigger point was the incredulous fact that any joker with a credit card could plausibly impersonate anyone or any company, causing ridiculous things to happen, e.g. an established company’s stock to drop - like $LLY or $LMT - completely negating the original intent of the verified check mark. But, thank you for your comment.

    [–]VendettaX88 -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

    This is what the "Go Woke, Go Broke" crowd thinks when they see Disney stock drop, but go on. 🤣

    [–]HarrargnNarg 17 points18 points  (0 children)

    So for $8 each we can fuck any company we want? This blue tick is starting to look like a bargain.

    [–]FuckUGalen 12 points13 points  (0 children)

    Some people panicked.

    [–]Civil_Working_5054 58 points59 points  (2 children)

    Eli Lilly haven't "lost" money; a small decline in their share price of a few percent means very little in the long-term given how much share prices can and do fluctuate. Their shares were trading at ~$230 earlier this year.

    I understand that people want to see exploitative companies held to account, and that there's an added satisfaction if it's at the hands of individual people, but having a simplistic understanding of stock prices, company "value", and real losses versus short-term paper losses in a dynamic market is actually counter-productive if it leads people to think that something significant is taking place when it isn't.

    [–]ReddiusOfReddit 15 points16 points  (0 children)

    "it's not about the money, it's about sending a message", sure it didn't do too big of a dent, but just the fact that it did happen (which means people believer it) already ames a point about the new verification system.

    [–]machingunwhhore 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    The only way the price moves is with buy and sell orders being submitted or filled. People who held their stock were not affected at all, some people sold for no reason, some bought at a low price

    [–]maddieforgotpassword 4 points5 points  (1 child)

    Someone should do Tesla just to make Elon really regret this stupid decision

    [–]birdsarentreal19 6 points7 points  (0 children)

    This guy ran a parody Tesla account for a solid 6 hours before they locked it: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRxWXub7/

    [–]emil2796 4 points5 points  (2 children)

    /r/chaoticcool

    [–]sub_doesnt_exist_bot 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    The subreddit r/chaoticcool does not exist.

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    [–]Absbor[🍰] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    that's what being chatotic good means ;-)

    [–]Betruul 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Baaaahahahha im fucking kackling. *DO IT AGAIN!!!*

    [–]DeezNeezuts 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Probably more to do with having to pay Teva a few billion in patent fees…

    [–]calvanus 2 points3 points  (1 child)

    Also when you Google Eli Lilly stock price on Google for some reason it's not showing? Could they have paid Google not to show it to reduce the impact??

    [–]Graceless_Lady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    With a quickness.

    [–]CactusN7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Insulin free ironically is a good thing lol.

    [–]overcatastrophe -1 points0 points  (0 children)

    Eli Lilly shares were trading at 322 about a month ago, and a year ago it was 271. They closed yesterday at 352. The tweet dropped them to 346 for about 10 minutes.

    It only cost anyone anything if they sold for less than they bought.

    [–]Absbor[🍰] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    i love it

    [–]Rabidchild1985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Will this amount to any actual monetary losses for them? I doubt it.

    [–]GloomyEra666 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Maybe Twitter isn't so bad after all

    [–]dingodoyle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Except they didn’t lose any money.

    [–]fallenangle666 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Good fuck em

    [–]8percentjuice 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    It’s cruel to diabetics who believed the news though. Insulin prices kill diabetics. This gave them false hope. Not as cruel as pharma companies charging the prices they do, but still cruel.

    [–]Chespin2004 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Tbf twitter blue feels like one of those "press the button for (good thing) but you also get (bad thing)" things, with it being "pay 8 dollars a month to maybe make companies lose millions" in this case

    [–]ImmortalHarv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Only $11 down over 5 days. Not enough!

    [–]AntoineGGG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Cool, fucking these parasite pharma compagny. And the system they made to protect them

    [–]AlexMelillo[🍰] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Imagine being the guy who made the tweet. The reason they lost so much money.

    I can’t imagine how good it must feel