PHARMA WATCH
BIRD FLU HYPE
Commentary By: Dr. Sherri J. Tenpenny
COMMENT: This technology will be really good news for sorting out who has allergies, who has "garden variety influenza" and who has a more aggressive form of influenza virus. It could keep people from being quarantined for an extended period of time if they are not infected.
August 30, 2006: FluChip can spot bird flu in under 12 hours Scientists in the United States have developed a new technology that reduces the time it takes to achieve a detailed diagnosis of avian flu, from one week or more down to less than 12 hours. A joint team from the University of Colorado and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a microchip-based test that will enable more laboratories across the United States to carry out basic tests to determine the type and subtype of an influenza virus within several hours. Because the FluChip technology is able to be used in lower level biosafety facilities.
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COMMENT: This is a "mixed bag"...It proves that viruses can be manufactured and "matched" to a drug. But it also opens the door for highly aggressive, highly inflammatory viruses to be created that can attack the weakest, sickest and most toxic of our world.....those with TB, HIV and significant malnutrition come to mind.
August 23, 2006: U.S. CDC publicizes genetic sequences of bird flu viruses U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday released genetic blueprints of over 650 genes of influenza viruses, including avian influenza H5N1, into a database accessible to researchers worldwide. The action marks "the beginning of a collaboration ... that will allow for greater access to data on a variety of influenza virus samples obtained from patients in the United States, including avian influenza H5N1 if it should arrive here," the agency said in a statement.
The sequence information, which is like a DNA fingerprint of each virus, allows researchers to determine more about a virus' origin and to compare it to other influenza viruses. It will help scientists determine whether the virus is susceptible to antiviral drugs and, in the case of avian influenza currently circulating in many parts of the world, to assess whether it's changing to make the virus more easily transmissible among people -- a key property the virus would need to acquire, to spark a pandemic.
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COMMENT: Pharma doesn't want to hear this....that herbs can heal and the people can recover!
August 12, 2006: Bird Flu patient cured with herbs. Beijing: Chinese traditional medicine experts succeeded in curing a bird flu patient after 50 days of therapy. Jiang, 31 years old, was given a ginseng and medical herb soup in early stages of therapy to get rid of 'poisonous heat' in his body, said the director of the hospital where Jiang was treated. The second stage of the therapy involved using Chinese herb 'herudu' to stimulate the patient's blood circulation, he said. A Chinese mushroom was also used to stimulate the functioning of his lungs. Jiang's state started improving towards the end of June and later check-ups showed that he no longer carried the virus H5N1.
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COMMENT: I can only imagine the types of drugs planned for this when it gets to humans!
April 7, 2006: Chronic, programmed polypeptide delivery from an implanted, multireservoir microchip device - Nature Biotechnology Implanted drug delivery systems are being increasingly used to realize the therapeutic potential of peptides and proteins. Here we describe the controlled pulsatile release of the polypeptide leuprolide from microchip implants over 6 months in dogs. Each microchip contains an array of discrete reservoirs from which dose delivery can be controlled by telemetry.
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March 17: Winston-Salem Journal | Burr to revive biomedical bill Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., wants a second shot at convincing Congress of the need for a new federal agency with oversight of biomedical research. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency, or BARDA, would still be partially exempted from the Freedom of Information Act, Burr said yesterday
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When the chemotherapy is given immediately, the treatments increased survival rates from 56% to 90% in comparison with giving treatment at four weeks or not at all, according to one retrospective study of patients with Epstein-Barr-virus-associated HLH.
