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Possibly from this
CEO Brian Cully will present at 9th annual Bioinvestor forum on Oct 5.
Norman
Mastitis is an infection, caused by several types of bacteria. Cows carry bacteria around with them in their nasal cavity. Infectiion can be shared by contact or by flies. SinoFresh destroys the bacteria.
This is what i believe. Well worth the cost.
Norman
I have my own idea about mastitis
I agree with the concept that increasing the money income from milk is the key concept and the optimum way is to improve the revenue from cows with sub-clinical mastitis. A vaccine is not a good idea, because it would increase the number of antibodies in the cow, and will lower the value of the milk if given to "healthy" cows.
My idea of treatment can be done with very low cost. Some onr can buy from Walgreens or online a couple of bottles of SinoFresh for about $15 each.
Pick a grouping of about 100 cows whose milk output can be can be separated from the rest of the herd so its value can be determined and its value measured.
I would run this test about 3 months My concept is that the group of cows
would have their noses sprayed twice a week for about three months. Ideally, the group would be compared with a "control" grup of a simulat nomber of cows that did not get the spray
This is certainly not a "clinical trial" No FDA involvement at all. I think it is quite legal. The farme will have an idea of how much additional income he can get by using the procedure.
I think it will be far about the cost of producing the few ounces of drug used in the process
Norman
royg
You are a person with the qualifications I hoped to reach.
I have no experience with dairy management I have experience with SinoFresh and think it s a great product. Close to being a "miracle drug"
Here is a link which gives a little information on the problem I think it will address.
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/dairy/as1129w.htm
Norman
john
I would expect that the herd owner makes money because his cows produce more and better quality milk than the same group of cows would untreated. They will have less infections than untreated cows. You could say that they are more contented, like the ones Carnation used to talk about.
A very significant increase in product, for a rather small increase in cost.
Norman
John
I don't have a bottle of SinoFresh at hand to check its content list. You can find it by searching for SinoFresh on the internet. I believe its advantage is that it is a topical spray, and very little if any gets into the animal's blood supply, much different from the case with hormones used to increase milk production
I think it will produce a large decrease in the bacteria content of the mucus on the cow's nose.
When cows are in pastures, they are visited by flies. Flies land on the nose and go also to teats which are leaking milk. The teats are very soft and subject to minute scratches from weeds or plants. allowing bacteria from the flies feet to get into the blood. So cows with infections can spread it to other cows.
So all cows in the herd should be treated periodically. I don't think that there will be a measurable change in the chemical content of the cows milk. There will be a significant increase in the volume production of milk, as well as better quality. More money for the herd owner. Only a slight cost of treatment.
Norman
I am wondering if it would be illegal to spray the noses of dairy cattle with an over-counter medication?
I don't think it would be very expensive. I would expect such cows to produce more milk with less cell content. than unsprayed cows..
Norman
Thank you for posting such a good survey of bovine mastitis. I have been interested in the subject for quite a few years. I once tried to get a company to do a test of a vaccine they were developing to see if there was an economic benefit from treating cows with it, but they were no interested "We are not an animal products company" the CEO said.
Recently, I have been trying to get the makers of n OTC nasal spray which I think works very well on humans to do a test of spraying their product on the noses of cows to reduce their infection rate. Should be very cheap to do this. I don't know what sort of FDA or other regulations have to be met to do this. The company [SinoFresh] has very little money though, not sure they will do it.
Maybe it has already been tried and did not work. From personal experience I think it is the best nose spray out there.
Norman
The 1 for 30 reverse split will most likely cause a temporary drop in my position's value. What I hope is that it will add to the number of
people willing to buy the stock.
So if they ever are able to produce a drug that they can market, the
value of my position will increase and I hope very significantly.
Norman
NASDAQ reported the short interest as being 12,058,729 on 4/15
I don't now where they got the number.
I assume they have means to collect data from brokers, market makers and so on.
My belief is their method id better than calculating short interest from short interest ratio. you should calculate the ratio from the short interest, not the other way around
Norman
I don't agree with the computation of total short interest from the "short interest ratio.
NASDAQ publishes the short interest, on March 31, it was 11,327,368.
Norman
Apparently the rapid drop was a one day event, not starting a trend.
It may have been a "sell at market" order which was taken advantage of by an alert person who got some very cheap stock.
Norman
Starting at about 10:28, ther were 4 trades of SFSH today [Apr 5]
5000 at .035, 5000 at .03, 44500 at .025, and 107500 at .01. Took less than a minute to get back to .01.
Rather a discouraging day, so far.
Norman
Will post something about Viruizin and IL-17E
Virulizin induces production of IL-17E to enhance antitumor activity by recruitment of eosinophils into tumors.
Benatar T, Cao MY, Lee Y, Li H, Feng N, Gu X, Lee V, Jin H, Wang M, Der S, Lightfoot J, Wright JA, Young AH.
Research and Development Department, Lorus Therapeutics Inc., 2 Meridian Road, Toronto, ON, Canada, M9W 4Z7.
Virulizin has demonstrated strong antitumor efficacy in a variety of human tumor xenograft models including melanoma, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer. Our previous studies have demonstrated that macrophages, NK cells, and cytokines are important in the antitumor mechanism of Virulizin. Virulizin treatment of tumor bearing mice results in the expansion as well as increased activity of monocytes/macrophages and production of cytokines IL-12 and TNFalpha and activation of NK cells. In this study we show that the inflammatory cytokine IL-17E (IL-25) is induced by Virulizin treatment and is part of its antitumor mechanism. IL-17E is a proinflammatory cytokine, which induces a T(H)2 type immune response, associated with eosinophil expansion and infiltration into mucosal tissues. IL-17E was increased in sera of Virulizin-treated mice bearing human melanoma xenografts, compared to saline-treated controls, as shown by 2D gel electrophoresis and ELISA. Treatment of splenocytes in vitro with Virulizin resulted in increased IL-17E mRNA expression, which peaked between 24 and 32 h post-stimulation. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that B cells produced IL-17E in response to Virulizin treatment. Furthermore, Virulizin treatment in vivo resulted in increased blood eosinophilia and eosinophil infiltration into tumors. Finally, injection of recombinant IL-17E showed antitumor activity towards xenografted tumors, which correlated with increased eosinophilia in blood and tumors. Taken together, these results support another antitumor mechanism mediated by Virulizin, through induction of IL-17E by B cells, leading to recruitment of eosinophils into tumors, which may function in parallel with macrophages and NK cells in mediating tumor destruction.
PMID: 18351336 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
The latest PR gives me new hope for Virulizin.
IL-17E is assoiated with Virulizin, I am a non-scientist so won't try to discuss the relationship.
"TORONTO, ONTARIO, Feb. 24, 2010 (Marketwire) -- Lorus Therapeutics Inc. (TSX:LOR)("Lorus"), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of pharmaceutical products and technologies for the management of cancer, today announced a publication demonstrating the antitumor activity of a novel cytokine interleukin 17E (IL-17E). The article entitled "IL-17E, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, has antitumor efficacy against several tumor types in vivo" was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy and is currently available online on the Journal's website.
In this article, Lorus' scientists demonstrated the antitumor effects of IL-17E alone and in combination with a number of approved anticancer agents in preclinical models. The studies showed that IL-17E alone had potent antitumor activity in a number of solid tumors, including melanoma, breast, colon, pancreatic, and non-small cell lung cancers. In combination studies, IL-17E was compatible with a wide variety of approved anticancer drugs, including Avastin, Tarceva, Taxol, Cisplatin, Dacarbazine, Irinotecan, and Gemzar. Furthermore, the combination of IL-17E with each of these anticancer agents showed greater anticancer efficacy than either agent alone without additional toxicity."
Norman
The article also provided data on the mechanism of anticancer activity for IL-17E, showing that IL-17E activates the immune system, specifically acting on eosinophils and B cells. IL-17E stimulated the production of eosinophils and increased the infiltration of eosinophils into tumors in association with antitumor response. The studies also showed that B cells were necessary for IL-17E antitumor efficacy.
Norman
This is a second I sent on Jan 25
While it is practical to treat herds with SinoFresh just to improve profitability, it is also possible to treat cows which demonstrate signs of infection, possibly more heavily, and reduce the number cows that have to be isolated or culled to prevent the spread of infection in herds.
Flies are one major cause of the spread of infection. I think a "sick" cow's nasal cavities contains a large amount of infectious material. Flies visit cow's noses and can go to the teats to drink the milk leaking out when the bag is full late in the day. The teats are very soft and do get scratched by briers or rocks in the pasture, so flies can actually transmit blood borne infection from cow to cow by flies. Of course, biting flies can do this too, but they are not a major problem in the US, the human handlers are believed to be the major cause of the spread of infection.
I think SinoFresh will reduce the total "load" of infection germs in a herd by a significant amount. It will reduce the number of cattle that have to be culled. I am sure it will be very profitable for dairymen.
to use it.
Norman Ruggles
{There was a typo in my name}
emails to SinoFresh
Ernie
This is the first post I sent on Jan 19.
My premise is that SinoFresh works extremely well in killing a wide variety of germs and viruses. This is from personal experience, both with me and my long term girl friend who had emphysema.
I also believe that selling a large quantity of SinoFresh to the public would take a very expensive advertising campaign. Large companies spend billions advertising competing products, and have very famous advocates.
But I think there is a market for SinoFresh with millions of "customers"
that does not require any advertising, it is dairy cattle. There is data that bovine mastitis costs the dairy farmer on the average about $50 per month on a per cow basis. Surprisingly, most of this cost is from cows that are symptom free.
The reason is that dairy farmers can actually increase the profitability of their herds
But I believe that dairymen can be shown that SinoFresh will raise the profitability of their herds by regularly "treating" the herd with SinoFresh by spraying their cows noses on a regular basis. I believe that this procedure will raise the value of the average cows milk output by about $50 per month. I think the cost per cow in labor and material would be much less..
The "market" would be millions of "customers" in the US and hundreds of millions world, only informative marketing is required.
There have been some efforts to try vaccines against the infectious agents but they were not very successful. There is a fundamental problem, vaccines build up antibodies, which can cause the quality of the milk to go down.
The basic idea should not be to "treat" sick cows, but to keep healthy cows from developing minor, non-clinical infections which lower their profitability. I am convinced that SinoFresh will do that very well. SinoFresh will also bring many infected cows back to health. The current "treatment" is culling, to reduce the spread of mastitis in the herd. In the summer time, when there are flies, the flies can even spread blood borne disease from cow to cow.
The search engine Scirus at this link can be used to find more information on bovine mastitis.
http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/search?q=bovine+mastitis&t=all&sort=0&g=s
Several veterinary college departments have published results on vaccines, but they were concentrating on healing the sick, not on the economics of the treatment.
I don't know what sort of FDA regulations must be met in order to use SinoFresh in this application.
My reward in this will be in the increase in price of the stock, if the company does this process.
Norman Ruggles
More data on Bovine Mastitis
I have been trying to convince the company that they should try to market SinoFresh to dairymen to reduce the cost and improve the quantity of milk production,
Here is a link on the subject.
A good summary about the economics of bovine mastitis can be found at this link.
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/dairy/as1129w.htm
I have sent a couple of emails, and made a couple of phone calls.
I did get a promise on one call that the speaker would read my email.
Next toime I called, I got am amswering machine.
Norman
I have not thought of trying a college contact. I have tried to contact the company without getting a reply. but will try again after the holidays.
Norman
Bovine Mastitis
SinoFresh can improve the profitability of dairy herds by reducing the costs of bovine mastitis.
A good summary about the economics of bovine mastitis can be found at this link.
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/dairy/as1129w.htm
Bovine mastitis might be considered a human related disease, since handlers that have contact with cattle are thought to be responsible for much most of the spreading of infection from cow to cow. Handlers should be required to wear gloves, and to change gloves when they move from cow to cow.
Flies are also a transmitter, particularly in summer. They visit the cow's nose, and fly to the teats to get the milk that drips from the teats when the bag is full. These flies can actually transmit blood borne infections. The mechanism is this. The cow's teats which are very soft and hanging low when full, are subject to getting minute scratches from the weeds or rocks in the pasture. The scratches provide entry to the bloodstream for the bacteria on the flies feet. Some areas have biting flies, but they are not considered
a big problem in the US or Canada.
I believe that the cow's nasal cavity is the repository for most of the bacteria that cause bovine mastitis. I believe that most of the costs to the herd owner by the infections is from cows which are not perceived to be "sick".
I believe that the solution is to treat all the cows in the herds. I don't know what the production cost of a liter of SinoFresh is, but I am certain the cost of the amount of SinoFresh needed per week to treat a cow is a very small fraction of the value of the increased milk production in that week from a cow.
What the company needs to do is develop a delivery system to deliver SinoFresh to dairy cattle. The small bottles used for humans will not work. It is probably not too important to minimize the amount of product used per cow, but of prime importance is being able to treat a lot of cattle rapidly without transmitting infections from cow to cow.
I remember from a long time ago, there was a company that sold canned, evaporated milk with the slogan "Milk from contented cows" [I think it was Carnation]. I don't know about the cows but I think that in a few years the owners of herds treated by SinoFresh will be quite content with their profit figures. And as for the stockholders, contemplating millions of regular users of SinoFresh, they will be positively basking in contentment.
Norman
SinoFresh and Dairy Cows
I think that SinoFresh has the potential to be an extremely valuable drug because it can actually be very profitable for dairy farmers to use it on the cattle used for milk production. The reason is that cattle with infections, even low grade ones, generate antibodies in their blood which migrate into their milk (bovine mastitis). In bad cases the milk is unusable, but even mild infections reduce the quality [and quantity] of the milk and reduces the price the dairy farmer gets for it.
A very simple and very low cost experiment would show this benefit. Take two herds of dairy cows in the same geographic area, treat one herd with SnoFresh and do nothing with the other herd. Record the value of the milk produced by each herd, say for a couple of months. Compare the money per cow each herd
produces. I predict the money per cow the SinoFresh cows will produces is around $100 per month more than the untreated cows produce.
My idea of treatment is that someone sprays SinoFresh in the nostrils of each cow, say twice a week. So the treatment cost is very low per cow.
The are several million dairy cows in the US, probably hundreds of millions world wide. All are potential customers for SinoFresh. No TV commercials are needed, I don't know exactly what sort of government regulations need to be met
but they should be fairly easy to meet.
SinoFresh could be the blockbuster drug of the 21st century.
Norman
PS Hows that for a pump? I actually believe it though.
Finances
A recent update (about 10/5)
LOR. TO Finance status
"The loss from operations (excluding the gain on settlement of the convertible debentures) for the three months ended August 31, 2009 decreased to $1.2 million from $2.7 million during the same period in fiscal 2009. During the three months ended August 31, 2009 the Company recorded a gain on the repurchase of its secured convertible debentures of $11.0 million reflecting the difference between the fair value of the debentures at the repurchase date, net of transaction costs of $221 thousand, and the cash payment amount of $3.3 million resulting in net income for the period of $9.8 million ($0.04 per share). The gain on repurchase of the debentures does not result in income taxes payable as the Company has sufficient capital and non-capital losses to shelter these gains. During the three months ended August 31, 2008 the Company's net loss of $2.2 million included a gain on sale of shares of $450 thousand related to the plan of arrangement and corporate reorganization.
The decrease in loss from operations for the three months ended August 31, 2009 compared with the same period in the prior year is due primarily to lower research and development costs of $685 thousand resulting from less spending on related activities, and higher expenditures in the prior period for GLP-toxicity studies for LOR-2040 and LOR-253; lower general and administrative costs of $261 thousand due to reduced personnel and legal costs; and lower accretion and interest expense related to the convertible debentures as a result of repurchasing the debentures in June 2009. The lower expenditures are partly offset by a decrease in interest income of $71 thousand to $11 thousand in the current quarter due to lower cash and investment balances as a result of the payment made to repurchase the debentures in June as well as lower prime interest rates."
Norman
White laser
I have read that Laseno is using a single white laser in their pico-projector instead of the red, green and blue lasers that MVIS uses.
I found a scientific article on white lasers which i will link.
http://www.pi4.uni-stuttgart.de/NeueSeite/research/whitelight_apps.pdf
I am not an expert, so won't comment on it, except it seems to require a lot of power. I have found nothing about where Laseno gets their laser. Anyone know more about the Laseno laser?
Norman
Curious that Dillinger's post is headed 418 of 425 but there are no more posts.
Norman
A recent PR gave a status of Lorus:
Maybe they can stay in business and prosper.
"In June 2009, the Company reached a settlement with TEMIC with respect to the purchase and settlement of the $15.0 million convertible debentures. Under the agreement, Lorus purchased all of the debentures from TEMIC for a $3.3 million cash payment on close of the transaction, the assignment of the rights under the license agreement with ZOR Pharmaceuticals, LLC (ZOR), sale of intellectual property associated with Virulizin and sale of Lorus' shares in its wholly owned subsidiary Pharma Immune Inc. which holds an equity interest in ZOR. Under the agreement, Lorus will be entitled to 50% of any royalties received under the ZOR license agreement and 50% of the deal value of any transaction completed in territories not covered by the ZOR license agreement. Lorus also retains a perpetual, royalty free license for the animal use of Virulizin.
FINANCIAL RESULTS
Our loss from operations for the year ended May 31, 2009 decreased to $9.3 million ($0.04 per share) compared to $12.6 million ($0.06 per share) during the same period in fiscal 2008. During the year ended May 31, 2009 the Company recorded a gain on sale of shares related to the Arrangement (described below) of $450 thousand that resulted in a net loss and other comprehensive loss of $8.9 million ($0.04 per share) compared to a gain on the sale of the shares related to the Arrangement in the amount of $6.3 million resulting in net loss and other comprehensive loss for the year ended May 31, 2008 of $6.3 million ($0.03 per share).
The decrease in net loss from operations for the year ended May 31, 2009 compared with the prior year is due primarily to lower research and development costs of $2.5 million resulting from less spending on GLP-toxicity studies as well as drug manufacturing costs, lower general and administrative costs of $757 thousand due to reduced legal costs as well as lower stock based compensation costs of $273 thousand as a result of one time option grants in the third quarter of 2008 and option modification costs incurred in the second quarter of 2008. Interest income decreased by $272 thousand in 2009 to $270 thousand as a result of lower cash and investment balances and lower interest rates.
We utilized cash of $7.2 million in our operating activities in the year ended May 31, 2009 compared with $10.2 million in the prior year. The decrease is primarily a result of a reduced net loss offset by lower accounts payable and accrued liabilities balances in the current year.....
At May 31, 2009, Lorus had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $5.9 million compared to $9.4 million at May 31, 2008. Working capital (representing primarily cash, cash equivalents, short term investments and other current assets less current liabilities which included the secured convertible debenture which were due October 6, 2009) at May 31, 2009 was a deficiency of $9.1 million as compared to a surplus of $8.0 million at May 31, 2008. Subsequent to the year-end Lorus repurchased the entire 15.0 million of secured convertible debentures for $3.3 million in cash and other consideration described above.
Following the extinguishment of the secured convertible debentures, management has forecasted that the Company's current level of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will not be sufficient to execute its current planned expenditures for the next twelve months without further investment. The Company is currently in discussion with several parties with a view to obtaining additional
funding.
***** Management believes that it will complete one or more of these arrangements in sufficient time to continue to execute its planned expenditures.*****
However, there can be no assurance that the capital will be available as necessary to meet these continuing expenditures, or if the capital is available, that it will be on terms acceptable to the Company."
Norman
The price is comfortably above the 21 day, 50 day and 200 day moving averages. So it seems to be in a strong uptrend. When it gets over 5, it can start trading options again, which may make more volatile.
Norman
The chart I posted came from a site that requires a paid subscription, I guess.
I think this is basically the same chart from a free site.
http://quotes.freerealtime.com/rt/frt/M?SA=quotes|JavaChart&IM=quotes&symbol=MVIS&type=JavaChart&
I am not familiar with IBox chats.
What was interesting to me was the chart shows 21 day, 50 day and 200 day moving average super-imposed on the price chart.
Norman
MVIS price chart
The price has quadrupled since March. This chart shows the 21 day, 50 day and 200 day moving averages all moving up.
Seems to be a bit of too much of good thing.
http://quotes.freerealtime.com/rt/frt/Q?IM=quotes&symbol=MVIS&type=JavaChart
But I will continue to hold until definitive news of the projector availability.
Norman
I was interested in the reference to the Substrate Guided Relay Optics in the post above by Aware. I found a patent application by Microvision theat gives a little info on the subject. Too technical for me.
"Substrate-guided relays for use with scanned beam light sources
USPTO Application #: 20090015929
Title: Substrate-guided relays for use with scanned beam light sources
Abstract: Substrate-guided relays that employ light guiding substrates to relay images from sources to viewers in optical display systems. The substrate-guided relays are comprised of an input coupler, an intermediate substrate, and an output coupler. In some embodiments, the output coupler is formed in a separate substrate that is coupled to the intermediate substrate. The output coupler may be placed in front of or behind the intermediate substrate, and may employ two or more partially reflective surfaces to couple light from the coupler. In some embodiments, the input coupler is coupled to the intermediate substrate in a manner that the optical axis of the input coupler intersects the optical axis of the intermediate substrate at a non-perpendicular angle. (end of abstract)
Agent: Microvision, Inc. - Redmond, WA, US
Inventors: Christian Dean DeJong, Karlton D. Powell, Mark O. Freeman, Joshua O. Miller
USPTO Applicaton #: 20090015929 - Class: 359633 (USPTO)"
Norman
News about LOR-2040
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 29, 2009) - Lorus Therapeutics Inc. (TSX:LOR - News; "Lorus"), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of pharmaceutical products and technologies for the management of cancer, today announced a publication from investigators at the Ohio State University (OSU). The article entitled "A LC-MS/MS Method for the Analysis of Intracellular Nucleoside Triphosphate Levels" was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Pharmaceutical Research in the June issue (Vol. 26(6):1504-15).
In the article data was presented from studies using a novel analytical method. The results confirm pharmacological activity of LOR-2040, in five leukemia cell lines and in bone marrow samples of a patient with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with LOR-2040 in a Phase II clinical trial. A significant decrease in intracellular deoxynucleoside triphosphate levels required for DNA synthesis in tumor cells treated with LOR-2040 confirmed the target inhibition effect of LOR-2040.
Norman
The short interest on June 15 increased about 9% from 6 million to 6.6 million, but the days to cover dropped from 20 days to 7 days because of increased average volume. No evidence of short covering IMHO.
Norman
"TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 22, 2009) - Lorus Therapeutics Inc. (Lorus) (TSX:LOR - News), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of pharmaceutical products and technologies for the management of cancer, today reported that it has reached a settlement with the debenture holders, The Erin Mills Investment Corporation (TEMIC), with respect to the purchase and settlement of the $15 million secured convertible debentures (the "Debentures"). Unless specified otherwise, all amounts are in Canadian dollars.
Under the agreement, Lorus has purchased all of the Debentures from TEMIC for a cash payment of $3.3 million, the assignment of the rights under the license agreement with ZOR Pharmaceuticals, LLC (ZOR) (described below), sale of intellectual property associated with Virulizin and sale of Lorus' shares in its wholly owned subsidiary Pharma Immune Inc. which holds an equity interest in ZOR (the "Consideration"). Under the agreement, Lorus will be entitled to 50% of any royalties received under the ZOR license agreement and 50% of the deal value of any transaction completed in territories not covered by the ZOR license agreement. Lorus also retains a perpetual, royalty free license for the animal use of Virulizin. TEMIC will be fully responsible for all clinical and regulatory costs associated with commercialization of Virulizin in territories not covered by the ZOR license agreement. Lorus will assist TEMIC with certain agreed upon services."
I think this is going to keep Lorus alive and kicking. Maybe actually make money some day.
Norman
Gene patent suit
"May 14, 2009 — The patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, the mutations of which are responsible for most cases of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers, have been challenged in a lawsuit.
"Genes and their mutations are naturally occurring substances that should not be patented," according to a statement from one of the plaintiffs, the American College of Medical Genetics.
The lawsuit was filed against the US Patent and Trademark Office, Myriad Genetics, and the University of Utah Research Foundation, which hold the patents on the BRCA genes, according to a press statement from the filers, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Public Patent Foundation at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City.
Myriad Genetics is the owner of BRACAnalysis, a genetic test that uses a blood sample to determine whether a patient has a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation.
The lawsuit has potentially far-reaching consequences because it challenges the whole notion of gene patenting, according to an ACLU statement. It continued: "Approximately 20% of all human genes are patented, including genes associated with Alzheimer's disease, muscular dystrophy, colon cancer, asthma, and many other illnesses."
I don't think genes should be patented either, but my opinion is of no value. What do wise people say?
Norman
Institutional Holdings
I will try to post a link
http://www.nasdaq.com/asp/holdings.asp?symbol=MVIS&symbol=IMGN&selected=MVIS&FormType=Institutional
This was dated May 1, 09
Shows 5 million new, 5 1/2 million increased, and 2 million decreased holdings.
That seems positive to me.
Norman
OT cancer in minorities
pril 9, 2009 — Disparities in cancer care between whites and ethnic minorities could become a burgeoning problem in the United States — especially because ethnic populations continue to grow and, as anticipated by the Census Bureau, are likely to collectively become a majority by 2042.
However, according to experts interviewed by Medscape Oncology, oncologists who are concerned about this problem are better served by learning how to work with minorities than by dwelling on disparities.
"At some point, disparities reporting becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy," Lovell Jones, PhD, told Medscape Oncology, explaining that repeated studies that show inequity can lead to an attitude of: "There's nothing I can do about it." ....
There are a number of steps that oncologists can take to be more effective care providers for minority patients, said Dr. Jones, who is the de facto founder of the annual National Minority Cancer Awareness Week, which occurs this year from April 19 to 25. Dr. Jones wrote the legislation that resulted in the United States Congress mandating the observance week in 1987.
Oncologists who want to have an effect on cancer disparities can reach out to and learn from colleagues in their community "who have successful outcomes in underserved populations," said Dr. Jones.
He explained that screening and treatment that work in minority populations might not be what is reported in national studies, which are dominated by white patients.
He offered an example: "I spoke to a white physician recently who said the incidence of blot clots associated with tamoxifen use in breast cancer is small and therefore not emphasized. He was surprised when I said that African Americans on the drug have a much higher incidence of blood clots," said Dr. Jones.
.........
Erbitux and KRAS mutations
January 16, 2009
Routine screening of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer for KRAS mutations before initiating treatment with epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors, such as cetuximab (Erbitux, ImClone), could result in a substantial cost savings. In addition, it would save patients from having to undergo ineffective therapy, according to a study presented here at the 2009 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.
"Upfront KRAS testing to limit cetuximab therapy to patients with wild-type KRAS tumors can result in drug cost savings of $604 million, if the annual [American] population with metastatic colorectal cancer undergoes first-line therapy with a cetuximab-containing regimen," said study author Veena Shankaran, MD, from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago, Illinois.
"KRAS testing is being embraced by the oncology community, and it is becoming more the standard of care," she added. As previously reported by Medscape Oncology, patients with colorectal cancer who carry KRAS mutations have been shown not to respond to treatment with EGRF inhibitors.
Data from studies indicate that the prevalence of KRAS mutations ranges from 35.6% to 42.3% in all patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, according to Dr. Shankaran, although an even higher percentage has been recorded.
Norman
No, I put in MVIS on "add board"
Norman
Investor holdings
The latest institutional investor holdings for MVIS, which I believe, are for the end of the Sept. quarter show a significant increase. The total is now 14 million, a 4 million increase over the previous quarter.
http://www.nasdaq.com/asp/holdings.asp?symbol=IMGN&selected=IMGN&FormType=Institutional
Norman
Re: Lorus Presentation
I thought Ai Ping Young's presentation was one of the best she has delivered, though not perfect. One reason, it included 25 slides on the web presentation, plus questions were answered.
I am not convinced Lorus will ever bring me a profit, but I think it may be able to continue in business long enough to have a chance. Virulizin is a crap-shoot, I don't have any "feel" whether Zoticon will be able to push it into a marketed drug in the US. It is supposed to be "approved" in Mexico. I have seeen no indication that it is actually being used there.
Norman
Lorus Presentation
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 11, 2008) - Lorus Therapeutics Inc. (TSX:LOR - News; "Lorus"), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of pharmaceutical products and technologies for the management of cancer, today announced that Dr. Aiping Young, President and CEO of Lorus, is invited to present a Company update at the Rodman and Renshaw 10th Annual Healthcare Conference being held at the New York Palace Hotel, New York.
WHERE: New York Palace Hotel,
Kennedy 1, 4th Floor
455 Madison Avenue at 50th Street
New York, NY
WHEN: November 12, 2008
TIME: 11:35 a.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time)
Interested parties may gain access to a live audio webcast of Dr. Young's presentation by visiting the Investor Relations section of Lorus' website at http://www.wsw.com/webcast/rrshq14/lrp, which will be available on November 12, 2008.
This conference provides informational service and networking opportunities for healthcare companies and investors
Norman