Torrent More Pharmaceutical Drugs: File Sharing Still Saves Lives

Presented at The Circle Of HOPE (2018), July 20, 2018, 11 a.m. (60 minutes).

Two years ago, the Four Thieves Vinegar Collective became public at The Eleventh HOPE after almost a decade of working underground, and debuted the first generation of the Apothecary Microlab, the open-source automated chemical reactor designed to synthesize the active ingredients of pharmaceutical drugs. They synthesized Daraprim onstage, and called Martin Shkreli's cell phone from stage. It was a good time. Since then, the reactor has developed, and been involved in more complicated syntheses, and hacking medical hardware. Most notably, they released plans for a DIY version of the EpiPen (the EpiPencil) that anyone can make for $30 US. Come see the new releases they have planned, as well as the new beta unit. Learn how to make medicine from poison, how to use the shrouding of information about medicine to make custom-tailored treatment programs for rare diseases, and how to use public data to find new, more efficient synthesis pathways for drugs. Hack your health. We can torrent medicine. File sharing saves lives.


Presenters:

  • Mixæl S. Laufer as Michael Laufer
    Chief spokesman for the Four Thieves Vinegar Collective, **Michael Laufer** (@MichaelSLaufer) worked in mathematics and high energy physics until he decided to use his background in science to tackle problems of global health and other social issues. Perpetually disruptive, his most recent project makes it possible for people to manufacture their own medications at home. Open-source, and made from off-the-shelf parts, the Apothecary MicroLab puts many medications within the reach of those who would otherwise not have them.

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