Drugmakers to join forces to make millions of Ebola vaccine doses

Didnt read the article but im assuming its referring to the latest WHO meeting. I posted about it in my thread here
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Here is a link to a summary of what was talked about there is a pdf at bottom of page that has more detailed info.
www.who.int...

The vaccines that have been talked about by the "smaller" players are all still pushing forward. I think there is about 7-10 different vaccines and drugs that are being worked on. I have a link to a good article that shows all the time lines for the different ones but its at work so will post it tomorrow when i get in.

The reason they are planning so many vaccines is because they worked based on a worst case scenario better to have too much then too little wouldn't you agree?.

Also they have agreed to finish the vaccine development whether its needed or not - meaning that there wont ever be a time in a future outbreak where companies will be saying "oh yeah we had one in development but then shelved it" they will be finished.
Aside from that it sets a really interesting, and in my opinion positive, precedent in big pharma working together to an issue that isn't going to make them money.

Ebola is just one of many neglected infectious diseases that is ignored by the west, its certainly not the most costly in terms of life taken or damage caused but it does bring attention to the danger of emerging diseases and i hope that once this is all over people will pay more attention to the problems faced in developing countries and fund much needed research and development so it doesn't have to be rushed during an outbreak.

a reply to: D4rcyJones

Thanks for the cross-reference. This threads from last week...always good to have updates.

Yeah, we pretty killed the vaccine discussions back in early August, so it's good to keep tabs on it.

I've pretty much jumped the shark this week, after watching ll the machinations since late July closely, and am convinced that this is all for show (from Brantly and Writebol to Duncan through the latest) that this is all about the vaccines and money.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

I honestly don't think its about money.. there are far easier ways for pharma to sell drugs then go to all this trouble, hell they don't even need the threat of an emerging disease they could just increase current drug prices and we would just have to cop it and pay up.

But im not going to argue about it... im in no way a supporter of big pharma as this whole situation we are currently facing due to the wilful neglect of profit seeking companies never investing in the first place.

And historically campaigns like this to eradicated emerging diseases tend not to make the companies involved any money, that's why they get neglected.

Will post link tomorrow for you to see the current development pipeline im aware of, i haven't followed the vaccine side of things closely as its not really my area of public health, but would be interested to see from you or others if there are indeed some that have disappeared.

a reply to: D4rcyJones

Don't get me wrong. I agree with you that it has been neglected, but maybe for just slightly different reasons. There is something very wrong with this whole situation on a number of levels. And I for one, don't appreciate the lies, politics, half truths, opportunism, rationalization, and downright selfishness.

Third possible Ebola vaccine to be sped through human safety trials

a reply to: ~Lucidity

Here is the article I was referring to, you may have already seen this

www.nytimes.com...

It was put up on the 23rd October. I particularly like the map showing what has been used, where it was used and what the outcome was.

a reply to: D4rcyJones
Thanks. Good chart.

Here we go...

Chimerix Plans $105M Stock Offering to Finance Ebola Drug Trials

Antiviral drug developer Chimerix (NASDAQ: CMRX), which recently received the regulatory go-ahead to begin human tests of a potential Ebola drug, is launching a stock offering that could pay for those clinical trials.

The Durham, NC company on Wednesday announced plans to sell $105 million in stock, part of a $150 million shelf offering. Chimerix says underwriters also would have a 30-day option to purchase up to $15.7 million in additional shares.

Chimerix disclosed on Oct. 16 that the Food and Drug Administration had cleared the company to start Phase 2 clinical trials studying its antiviral drug brincidofovir in Ebola. Chimerix plans to conduct those trials in Europe and the United States. Studies of the drug in West Africa are also being considered.

Dr. Craig Spencer, 33, is responding well to treatment, which has included brincidofovir, according to a statement released Saturday by the city's Health and Hospitals Corp. The experimental drug has been used to treat other patients in the U.S.

...

When it comes to Ebola drugs, we’ve heard primarily about ZMapp, Tekmira, and vaccines. How and why did this drug, brincidofovir, seem to suddenly emerge on the Ebola treatment scene?

LATimes

Chimerix's Brincidofovir Given To Dallas, Nebraska Ebola Patients

Ebola Cure Delayed by Drug Industry’s Drive for Profit, W.H.O. Leader Says

a reply to: ~Lucidity

This module enables the “Clinical Trial in a Test Tube”™ application of the MIMIC® technology. To date, this module has been used for seasonal and pandemic influenza, Ebola, Marburg, Yellow Fever, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, and latent tuberculosis (Mtb) as model diseases.

Functional Assays and Disease Models

Regards MIMIC®:

VaxDesign became a wholly owned subsidiary of sanofi pasteur in 2010. The MIMIC® System was primarily developed from about 2004 through early 2009 under a $40 million contract for the Rapid Vaccine Assessment Program with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). In 2006, we began to reach out to commercial customers and collaborators, as well as non-profit organizations.

Today, we have a diverse group of collaborators, including the federal government (DTRA, Army CBMS, DARPA, WRAIR, NIST); biotechnology companies; and numerous universities

About Us

a reply to: ~Lucidity

The WHO has always been critical of western drug industry approach to emerging diseases, they have not been shy in calling them out before about not investing in drugs that are actually needed but cant be paid for.
Based on the comments of big pharma CEOs at the vaccine meeting last week they made it clear that they would find the money internally they do not need to rely on government or public funding, they have the funds already that can be diverted away from more useless development for the time being.
If they have come out now and said they are waiting for it to be profitable (which there is no indication in the article or else where that they have done that) then it flies directly in the face of their testimony to the WHO.
From my understanding most of the drugs that have so far been used are broad antivirals, their application goes beyond just Ebola, even the specific Ebola ones are providing a large amount of research knowledge as well as understanding in rapid development and production of drugs that will be both applicable (and highly profitable) to all future drug developments.
Its a win win for drug companies to create and distribute an effective EVD drug/vaccine, even if they dont charge or charge minimally the knowledge and public image they get from this whole thing will bring them more than enough money to still turn a profit.