Posted on 01/17/2007 6:33:23 AM PST by Michael_Michaelangelo
bump
I'm hopeful, but skeptical.............
It'll never get off the ground because course drug companies want to own a drug so they can charge the moon for it.
bump
Governments at various levels seem to be bending over backwards to fund embryonic stem cell research despite little evidence of utility.
I don't advocate government funding of research, but if its going to happen, this cancer treatment seems like a better use for it.
This seems to me (full disclosure: retired former R&D scientist in a large proprietary pharmaceutical company) a great opportunity for one or more "generic" drug companies to show their worth since they supposedly thrive on selling off-patent drugs.
This is the sort of research foundations should be funding. What billionaire wouldn't want the publicity of helping to fund a cheap treatment for cancer?
They will alter the chemical slightly, claiming it increases potency or solubility, patent it and then make billions. Assuming, of course, there is something to this.
A good example: Prilosec=Omeprazole, Merek was making 11 million/day on it when the patent was to expire. They brought out Nexium=Esomeprazole and claimed it to be better. Omeprazole was the first in the class, little was known about it. Originally it was approved for 20mg/day, no more than 6 weeks. It was learned to be realatively safe over time. Nexium has a recommended dose of 40mg/day, it should work better. Trust me, drug companies know how to work the system.
possible ping
Do you have any idea how expensive it is to take a drug from the labratory to the market? Would you invest in any project or financial instrument if you were offered no return?
I would not be so skeptical. Drug companies could use it in an "additive" formulation. DCA plus X plus Y and patent.
Sorry, chemicals already being used for treatments, so there is clearly already some sort of medical market for it....
Market or no, you get cancer, and you know about this chemical, you are going to take it, whether Bayer or Bristol or whoever wants to sell it to you or not.
Sorry, chemicals already being used for treatments, so there is clearly already some sort of medical market for it....
Market or no, you get cancer, and you know about this chemical, you are going to take it, whether Bayer or Bristol or whoever wants to sell it to you or not.
Ditto to rant!
"Prescriptions" should be recommndations, and you should not need them. Many of our prescription drugs are otc (over-the-counter) in Canada and part of Europe. Don't see their populations dropping like flies.
Assuming a 15% cost of capital it cost approximately $1/2 billion. see http://www.cptech.org/ip/health/econ/howmuch.html
The figure you cite is somewhat on the low side, but my response was based on the uninformed opinion to someone who should be posting at the Democratic Underground.
I'm not sure I'd go that far because of the problem of addiction. Addiction can be considered a market failure. The drug causes people to make a different choice than they otherwise would have made.
When I was recovering from surgery last year, I was glad to have a physician who managed my pain medication. He first gave me strong stuff. He then gave me prescriptions for weaker and weaker stuff. I realized how easy it would have been to get hooked if my physician wasn't being careful. Given how many people get addicted to painkillers now, how many more would get addicted if we didn't have any controls?
The solution is not to get rid of the prescription system, but to make it a lot more flexible. People should be able to make their own choices about risk versus reward. If people want to get something that hasn't gone through all phases of testing, they should be allowed to take that chance.
Whenever there is a discussion of legalizing medication for over the counter there is always someone that brings up narcotics. My response is.. Keep these illegal and requiring a prescription. Now can we get on with legalizing the rest as OTC?
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