daf bit: Sanhedrin 40-41

The mishna describes the examination of witnesses in a capital trial. On what day and at what hour did the incident occur? At what place? Did you know the defendant? Did you warn him? If the charge is idolatry, who did he worship and how? If one witness testifies that it happened on the second day of the month and another on the third this is accepted, as one might not have known that a day was (or was not) added to the previous month. But if one says the second day and the other the fourth one witness is disqualified. Similarly, if one says the second hour of the day and the other the third it is accepted, but third and fifth are not accepted. R.Yehudah says third and fifth are accepted but fifth and seventh are not, because in the latter case the sun has crossed from the east to the west. (These are notional hours; there are always twelve between sunrise and sunset.) (40a)

The g'mara on today's daf asks how late into the month a difference of one day is accepted. Others said in the name of R. Yochanan: until the greater part of the month has passed. Raba concurs that by then one would know of the intercalation or, even if not, of the shofar blast (to proclaim the new month). One could credibly miss one sign but not two. (41b)

(A capital case requires two witnesses; the rabbis are looking for reasons to disqualify witnesses to reduce the likelihood of capital trials.)

pharma mystery

I don't understand the drug industry. Ok, ok, nobody does. Let me be more specific: I don't understand what's going on with one of my glaucoma drugs, Xalatan.

This drug has been on the market since 1996 without a generic option, meaning it costs more than $100 a month if you pay for it yourself (which of course most people don't, but delving into insurance-based pricing in this post would be scope creep). My co-pay is higher for a name-brand drug than for a generic, so I have personal interest in this going generic.

About a year ago word on the street was that the patent was due to expire last September, but something seems to have happened because it's now, according to the patent office, locked in until early 2011. According to my doctor, some insurance companies are applying pressure to ophthamologists, pushing them to use different drugs instead to treat this condition because of the expense. One way or another, it appears that Pfizer has about another year to collect the big bucks from customers before they have to accept that a 15-year monopoly is a pretty good run.

Given all that, I was surprised at this morning's checkup to receive not only a free sample (a month's supply) but also a card that I can use four times or up to $350, whichever comes first, getting my prescription filled. So my next four bottles of the stuff will be free. Before I use that up I'll have another checkup, at which I might score another freebie and perhaps another card. Even if the promotion is over by then, they'll have given up four months' worth of monopoly pricing on me in their final year of being guaranteed to collect it.

How is this in their interest? I'm happy to pocket the savings; I've been pouring money into keeping my glaucoma at bay for as long as I've been paying my own bills. (It was diagnosed when I was a child.) But I don't understand why I'm getting these savings at this time.