Posted on 08/07/2014 3:03:33 PM PDT by Veto!
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - - Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation (Nasdaq:TKMR) (TSX:TKM), a leading developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, today announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has verbally confirmed they have modified the full clinical hold placed on the TKM-Ebola Investigational New Drug Application (IND) to a partial clinical hold. This action enables the potential use of TKM-Ebola in individuals infected with Ebola virus. ………….
"TKM-Ebola is being developed by Tekmira Pharmaceuticals and the U.S. Department of Defense's Medical Countermeasure Systems BioDefense Therapeutics (MCS-BDTX) Joint Product Management Office."
I dislike and distrust either-or thinking. Even -- especially -- my own. But somewhere between the either and the or, truth can be found.
Ping...
Is there something wrong with the idea of making a profit?
I don’t have a problem with them making money on it, but there are limits.
Dis “verbal release of the hold”, whose mouth eggszackly did it come from. Dese guys iz wisen up after the text messages and e-mail foulups.
Gets down to “they said”, “did not” when the SHTF.
“Don’t forget the Eboli”
No problem whatsoever with profit…in fact, I've been posting for days that Tekmira might be an investment opportunity. The interesting part of this is the. "US. Department of Defense's Medical Countermeasure Systems BioDefense Therapeutics (MCS-BDTX) is involved.
Are they expecting an epidemic here? Are they expecting ebola virus to be used against us in chemical warfare? It's their job to think in worst-case terms, but the multimillion-dollar serum may just end up on shelves. One would think that the FDA might be a more appropriate agency to fund this rather than DOD if it's a garden-variety healthcare issue.
When is an investment of taxpayer dollars warranted? If we were to believe the MSM, ebola is NO PROBLEM.
You are right to distrust your either-or thinking.
There are many reasons to invest in this very promising GMO treatment. It uses GMO bacteria and GMO tobacco to produce “plantibodies”.
Nothing stinks like success. How do you suppose the average consumer will feel about GMO corn and soy after another GMO product starts saving thousands of poor Africans from a horrible death?
There are many diseases that might be treated with plantibodies harvested from treated tobacco and this method is much faster and cheaper than creating and harvesting antibodies from lab mice or other animals. They can make a profit while reducing costs to the end consumer. Win-Win.
They have many promising GMO projects in the pipeline. Quelling the GMO luddites through positive PR will help with that.
Yes, since 9/11, Ebola has been on a list of potential bio-weapons.
And no, I would think it almost 100% impossible for a Ebola Zaire epidemic to occur in the US. That is why it has been pretty much contained in West Africa for 40 years.
As to the other related viruses like Marburg, etc, there are isolated cases, here and there but quickly controlled. Having said all that, we still have more to learn about this class of virus. The recent work done since 2010, by the DOD (US Army) seems to be leading to a anti-viral compound that will be effective at some point and that is good news for West Africa. And anyone else who might receive travelers from these areas as they could be treated before they arrive.
I don't see it as something to put on the top of my list of worries.
Other pharm companies are in the Ebola chase as well, as I posted here this morning: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3190064/posts?page=37#37
“Four companies working on Ebola treatments/preventives. I like Tekmira, a Canadian firm, currently in fast-track negotiation with the FDA.
“Here’s info on the four:”
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/4-ebola-researching-biotech-companies-131536033.html
Thanks, Cold Heat. I didn't know that...
You can add one more to the list...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-07/ebola-drug-from-japan-may-emerge-among-key-candidates.html
Great. informative link. Thx.
I think you are confusing things. The drug given to the two Americans is made in GM tobacco plants. This Tekmira drug is chemically synthesized.
Whether it is or whether it isn’t depends as always on the meaning of “is”.
I think you have me confused with another poster.
Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.
The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.
So far the false positive rate is 100%.
At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.
*sigh* Such is life, and death...
I’ll take “Obama’s Next Crony Capitalism Project” for $200, please, Alex.
There you have it. EVERYTHING is a crony capitalism project these days. The one thing we can count on.
I don’t think so. You were talking about “plantibodies” grown in GM tobacco, but the opening article is about the Tekmira drug, which is a completely different kind of drug.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.