GLG News by Gardasil Prescribers (US)

Alan PattersonObstetrician and GynecologistALAN B PATTERSON MD, PA

Sequenom's delay

May 4, 2009

Analysis of:UPDATE 2-Sequenom delays Down Syndrome test; shares plunge | uk.reuters.com

This delay is not good for the company, especially since there are already tests in place that are effective to screen for Down's syndrome.  These tests now are the standard of care, so the longer it takes for Sequenon to launch it's test the worse, for the company.

Paul CorsiPartner and Obstetrician GynecologistAssociated Obstetrics and Gynecology

HPV vaccine- Gardasil (Merek) - Who will cover the cost?

February 21, 2007

Analysis of:Texas governor orders anti-cancer vaccine for schoolgirls | www.usatoday.com

Michigan was one of the first states to have a law that would require a girl age 11-12 to undergo vaccine with Gardasil.  As a practicing generalist I am finding it very difficult to obtain coverage from the insurance companies to cover the cost of the three vaccine injections.  The real question is not should an 11-12 yr old female obtain the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer but who will be able to pick up the cost for this very important vaccine especially the uninsured. 

Moshe ArditiOwnerMoshe Arditi, MD, Inc

Anthrax and cholera toxin inhibitors may lead to Novel Therapies

April 28, 2006

Analysis of:Statistical pattern matching facilitates the design of polyvalent inhibitors of anthrax and cholera toxins. | www.nature.com

Anthrax toxin, is secreted by the anthrax bacterium and is made up of toxic proteins that damage host cells. In 2001 the intentional release of anthrax spores in postal mail in the US has led to increased federal research dollars to design possible new therapeutics and vaccines to prevent or treat these toxins that can be used as biological weapons. Currently we use anthrax exposure with antibiotics, but despite antibiotic use the mortality rate remains 75%. Antibiotics do not alter the detrimental effects of the anthrax toxin. Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) and the University of Toronto reported recently their discovery of an anthrax toxin inhibitor that can neutralize the toxin. Using the same technique of placing multiple peptides on a liposome, these researchers also created a polyvalent inhibitor of cholera toxin. Therefore, the implication of this novel approach to design anthrax inhibitor (antitoxin) is not only valuable for the treatment of anthrax, but also because the same technique can be use to make better therapies against many other diseases such as cholera. Inhibitors designed in this fashion may one day be used together with standard antibiotic therapy to treat many diseases such as anthrax and cholera and others.

Moshe ArditiOwnerMoshe Arditi, MD, Inc

Toll Like Receptors (TLRs) and TLR-based therapies and drugs

April 18, 2006

Analysis of:Immunology: Targeting the Tolls | sciencemag.org

The commercial interest in TLR-based drugs is suddenly hot. Many experimental TLR-based drugs are in early stages of development, including ones to treat or prevent allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, hepatitis C and autoimmune disorders. Drugs that hinder TLRs might one day also treat heart disease like atherosclerosis, which now well established to be a chronic inflammatory disease. However, many hurdles remain before most of these compounds can be marked. The first order of business is to better understand the body’s surveillance and communications systems headed up by the Toll-like receptors. Then—on to designing cures and treatments. At least nine biotech companies have compounds that stimulate or inhibit TLRs in clinical and preclinical trials for illnesses as diverse as hepatitis C, cancer, asthma, and allergies.

Moshe ArditiOwnerMoshe Arditi, MD, Inc

Experimental Bird Flu vaccine worked only about half of volunteers.

April 4, 2006

Analysis of:Safety and Immunogenicity of an Inactivated Subvirion Influenza A (H5N1) Vaccine | content.nejm.org

Effective vaccines against H5N1 viruese in humans are urgently needed.  A two dose regimen of 90 microgram of influenza A H5N1 subvirion vaccine was found to be safe and generated protective anitoby levels in approximately half of the recipients. This is a first step in the quest for effective vaccines for avian flu. A study by the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the consequences of a severe pandemic with avina flu could, in the United States, imclude 200 million people infected, 90 million clinically ill, and 2 million dead.

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