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Let's all look for the news causing today's high volume on this.
I can't locate anything with my sources as of yet.
E-mailed Michael Moore
Dear Mr. Moore
Greetings, from a very concerned citizen regarding rising healthcare costs and preventative medicine.
There is a medical breakthrough in existence today, a virtual "cure" for renal failure that is being suppressed and ignored by influential national medical organizations in spite of its potential impact on saving national healthcare dollars.
Dr. David Moskowitz, a nephrologist from St. Louis, MO, published data in 2002 that could prevent end stage renal failure in millions of people with high blood pressure or diabetes. Effectively, this could save Medicare 90% of its $25 billion yearly dialysis budget!!! Medical bureaucracies such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the NIH have extremely large budgets, which depend upon federal dollars. It seems counterintuitive, but a medical breakthrough with potential to save significant healthcare dollars would meet with resistance for fear of budget cuts within these organizations.
You don't have to take my word for the merits of his research... This link should take you to Dr. Moskowitz' “recent publications” link. You’ll want to click on “Recent Publications”.
http://www.genomed.com/index.cfm?action=investor&drill=publications.
The first reference listed "From Pharmacogenetics to Improved Patient Outcomes..." is the peer reviewed article published in 2002 that demonstrates superior outcomes with his protocol.
I'm not sure how familiar you are with reading medical journal articles, but in short, he uses a known medication (in a class of blood pressure drugs called ACE-Inhibitors) at an increased dose (approximately 4 times the normal dose at 2mg/kg/day) in patients with renal insufficiency. He essentially REVERSED the renal disease for a subset of his patients, and when his treatment was stopped, their renal disease predictably worsened. His protocol worked best in white and black men with progressing renal failure due to hypertension or diabetes, with starting creatinine levels between 1 and 2. (See Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6).
He used genomics to identify the ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) gene as a "master disease gene". You'll see he has protocols not just for kidney failure but also for a wide variety of other illnesses, to include avian influenza and other viral illnesses, all types of cancers, emphysema, etc. His case studies in treating these illnesses are compelling.
This link should take you to a listing of all their recent press releases: http://www.genomed.com/investor/dsp_investor.cfm . I've included his most recent press release below, in which Dr. Moskowitz was published in the ACP Observer Letters.
I implore you to investigate and report on Dr. Moskowitz' research. His contact information is readily available at his company's website, www.genomed.com.
I have personally contacted my congressmen and Texas government representatives, but to little if no avail.
It is incredulous that his findings have not yet attained the level of recognition that they deserve. The American public, particularly those with loved ones on dialysis, deserve to be better informed!
Kindest regards,
Mr.#######
PS. See below the press release referencing his work on renal failure prevention:
” ACP Observer Publishes Letter on GenoMed's Ability to Prevent Most Kidney Failure”
--------------------
ACP Observer Publishes Letter on GenoMed's Ability to Prevent Most Kidney Failure
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
David W. Moskowitz MD
CEO, GenoMed
tel. 314.983.9933
dwmoskowitz@genomed.com
ST. LOUIS—December 18, 2006—GenoMed™ (OTC Pink Sheets GMED), a Next Generation Disease Management company, announced today that the ACP Observer, the monthly news magazine for doctors of internal medicine, published a letter in its December issue referring to GenoMed's ability to prevent most kidney failure.
The letter, entitled "Promoting Dialysis Alternative"
(http://www.acponline.org/journals/news/dec06/letters.htm), was written by GenoMed's CEO, David Moskowitz MD, who is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. The letter calls the medical community to task for the four years of "organizational silence" since Dr. Moskowitz's paper was published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
Dr. Moskowitz's paper, published in 2002, described a novel treatment approach using already existing medications but at a higher dose. If begun early, this approach could reverse kidney failure in white and black patients with diabetes and high blood pressure. These two diseases cause 90% of kidney failure in the US.
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) currently pay about $25 billion annually for kidney dialysis and transplantation. When Dr. Moskowitz briefed CMS about his paper in 2004, the Medical Director and his staff at CMS had no interest. Neither did the National Institutes of Health, nor any non-profit kidney association.
Publication of Dr. Moskowitz's letter in ACP Observer is the first time that a mainstream medical news magazine has carried the story.
Said Dr. Moskowitz, "In medical school, we were encouraged to find cures. I wouldn't have believed it if somebody had told me then that there was no point in finding any cures because news of the cure would just be suppressed. Yet that is exactly what has happened for the past four years."
Dr. Moskowitz continued, "Medicine, like any human endeavor, thrives on the status quo. It hates change. Financially small disruptions can be tolerated and even celebrated, like finding cures for polio and TB in the 1950s. Other than the staff of the polio wards and the TB sanitaria, nobody in medicine was hurt financially. But potentially eliminating 90% of a $25 billion a year industry is another thing altogether. Nobody wants their budget cut."
Added Dr. Moskowitz, "The American College of Physicians has long been the most prestigious organization in the United States for general internists. I've always been extremely proud to belong to it. I'm especially grateful for its courage in breaking the silence that has surrounded my paper for the past four years."
About GenoMed
GenoMed estimates that it can already save 10% of healthcare costs and extend life by 5 years. Patients are encouraged to contact Dr. Moskowitz ( dwmoskowitz@genomed.com) about joining GenoMed's Clinical Outcomes Improvement Program (COIP[tm]).
---------------------------------------------------------------
CDC: 2006 West Nile virus deaths up
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/06/07/west.nile.deaths.ap/index.html
June 7, 2007
Story Highlights
• CDC: 2006 West Nile virus deaths were highest level since 2003
• 4,269 reported cases; at least 177 deaths
• Some officials worry federal funding cuts could lead to more illness
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Deaths from the mosquito-borne West Nile virus increased last year to their highest level since 2003, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At least 177 people died from West Nile in 2006 out of 4,269 reported cases, the CDC said. The number of deaths was the greatest since 2003, when 264 people died out of nearly 10,000 cases.
The deadliest year for West Nile was 2002, when 284 people died.
In 2006, the nation also saw a 14 percent increase in the most serious West Nile cases involving encephalitis, meningitis or paralysis, according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Those severe cases are the most likely to be reported to health authorities and are considered the most reliable measurement of the illness's impact on the U.S. population from year to year.
Some experts attributed the West Nile spike to weather, saying last summer's heat wave may have contributed to mosquito breeding and activity. It was comparatively cool in 2004 and 2005.
The worst of the 2006 season occurred out West, with nearly 1,000 cases in Idaho alone. Human cases along the Eastern seaboard have been declining since West Nile first appeared in the United States, in New York, in 1999.
Some health officials worry that cuts in federal funding could lead to more illness.
CDC funding for West Nile prevention dropped from $45 million last year to $27 million this year, although an added $8 million was set aside for Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
As a result, states are cutting back testing of dead birds and mosquitoes. Some are also considering reductions in human testing.
"I am concerned," said Karen Yates of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. She said testing of dead birds provided an "early warning system" for much of the state. "I wish we hadn't lost that capacity."
From Dr. Moskowitz/GMED Website Q & A -
http://www.genomed.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
Hello,
I am a current stockholder of Genomed, and have been since last year. It seems that in recent days Genomed has taken a dip in price. Although the stock seemed to level off for a time, it has now begun to trade lower. It appears slightly confusing, as there has been some recent news that has seemed promising for the company.
I was wondering if you could share some light on the company's financials and outlook for the next year or two. I am trying to decide if I should remain a stockholder, or simply sell out.
Thanks so much for writing.
I apologize profusely for the lack of current financial statements. We're quite overdue (two years). I'm currently working with our accountant to update them and submit our financial statements to the OTC Pink Sheets company.
I can say, though, that we have enough money in the bank to continue operating at our current rate for at least another 12 months.
During that time, we hope to bring in more revenue from paying patients who avail themselves of our Next Generation Disease Management service. We're also actively pursuing revenue in the form of joint ventures with potential partners in molecular diagnostics and drug discovery & development. We intend to structure these deals so that they will be as non-dilutive as possible to our current shareholders.
So I'd say that time is definitely on our side. I firmly believe that GenoMed will succeed as a company. We have to succeed, because our mission is pure: it's nothing less than public health.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: biotech is a long-term investment. I've been expecting GenoMed to be front-page news ever since we described our "recipe" for preventing 90% of kidney failure over five years ago. Later, I was sure the media would pick up our treatment for SARS and other viruses, like West Nile virus encephalitis and perhaps pandemic flu.
Sooner or later, I'm convinced, word will get out. I just don't see how hundreds of people can continue to die of West Nile virus every summer, or tens of thousands of people die on dialysis every year, and people still not know about GenoMed's successful treatments. Five years of people dying needlessly seems to me to be a pretty long time for the so-called Information Age we're supposed to be living in.
But there are plenty of other examples of people dying needlessly that I can easily think of. I can't say I'm surprised. But I continue to be disappointed.
I'm glad to know of your past support. I hope the company can keep it.
Thanks again for writing!
Best regards,
Dave Moskowitz MD, MA(Oxon.), FACP
Victim of West Nile virus can get $130,000 payout
by KIRK MAKIN
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070515.wwestnile15/BNStory/National/?page=rss&a...
May 15, 2007 at 6:29 AM EDT
Ontario's first victim of West Nile virus has a right to receive $130,000 from his insurance company because his illness was so unexpected as to constitute "an accident," the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled yesterday.
The victim, Ryszard Kolbuc, is a 57-year-old labourer who was rendered quadriplegic after becoming infected with the rare disease in 2002.
"At the time, while mosquito bites were common to a person in this occupation, there had been no reported cases of the West Nile virus in Ontario," Madam Justice Karen Weiler wrote on behalf of Madam Justice Kathryn Feldman and Mr. Justice Harry LaForme.
Mr. Kolbuc fell seriously ill within days of receiving the bite. However, Ace Ina Insurance, a company that had negotiated a group insurance policy with Mr. Kolbuc's union -- the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades -- refused to make good on the policy.
The key to the case lay in how the law defines an accident; a legal question that has furrowed judicial brows for generations. In general, a death or serious illness arising from an unforeseeable cause that was not "naturally occurring" will trigger the payment of an insurance policy.
In the Kolbuc case, lawyers Chris Paliare and Gregory Neinstein argued for the plaintiff that a small number of diseases are so unforeseen that it is only reasonable to view them as being accidents.
"The plasterer had no reasonable expectation that he would get West Nile virus from the activity in which he was engaged," Judge Weiler agreed. She said that, while a disease is not an accident, an accident can nonetheless cause a disease. Judge Weiler cited an example of a shipwrecked sailor who develops an illness from exposure to the elements.
"Why should this be so complicated?" Mr. Neinstein said in an interview yesterday. "The company was saying that its policy didn't include disease. But contract law says that if you want it in the contract, then put it in the contract.
"I think insurance companies create these very vague policies with broad terms so that they can sell them to as many people as possible, and then read the terms to say that things are not covered."
Mr. Neinstein said that Mr. Kolbuc's problem is distinguishable from most other diseases that could potentially strike an individual, since it had an "external trigger" -- namely, a mosquito.
"If this happened again today, I would still argue that it is unforeseeable, and that it is not a naturally occurring event," he said.
Mr. Neinstein said that his client -- a Polish immigrant with a wife and two daughters -- has been surviving mainly on workers compensation benefits since he was struck by the illness, thus the court ruling will make a big difference to their lives.
Yesterday's ruling reversed an earlier Ontario Superior Court decision.
Thanks for that great post!
It is good to hear that information.
-Pioneertx
Next step is sending a copy of the letter to each of the 35 "Federal Legislators from Texas - 110th Congressional Delegation" on the list from Gov. Perry's office. I'll be mailing these off over the next week.
It will begin thus:
"Dear Mr. #####,
Greetings, from a very concerned citizen regarding rising healthcare costs and preventative medicine."
The rest of the letter will be verbatim the letter an investor on Raging Bull called "lucky_red_lion" created. He is a primary care physician.
Here is a link to the post on Raging Bull.
http://ragingbull.quote.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=GMED&read=26204
-Pioneertx
GenoMed CEO Interviewed Today on Market News First
2/14/2007 9:30:28 AM
ST. LOUIS, Feb 14, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- GenoMed(R) (OTC Pink Sheets GMED), a Next Generation Disease Management company, announced today that its CEO will be interviewed today at 11 am CST on Market News First ( www.mn1.com).
Said Dr. David Moskowitz, GenoMed's CEO and Chief Medical Officer, "I'm thrilled to be interviewed by Market News First. They are a premier news service for savvy investors. GenoMed has a small army of extremely loyal and patient investors. I'm so glad for them, and for patients, that word about GenoMed is finally getting out."
About GenoMed
GenoMed estimates that it can already save 10% of healthcare costs and extend life by 5 years. Patients are encouraged to contact Dr. Moskowitz (dwmoskowitz@genomed.com) about joining GenoMed's Clinical Outcomes Improvement Program (COIP(R)).
Contacted the TX Governor's Office on his website with "lucky red lion"'s suggested "letter from a concerned citizen. (There are a couple typos…so be sure you spell check yours before sending) I changed the intro to "from a concerned citizen regarding our nation's healthcare system".
http://ragingbull.quote.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=GMED&read=26204
The result was a letter on Gov. Perry's official letterhead from the "Administration and Constituent Services" rep. and CC'd were John Cornyn, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Sam Johnson, and Albert Hawkins, III.
Below is the response:
---------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. ####
Thank you for taking the time to contact the Office of the Governor. We certainly understand that you are concerned.
Given that Medicare is a federal program over which Governor Perry has no jurisdiction, I will share your concerns with your congressional delegation. Also, I have enclosed a contact list should you wish to reach your federal officials directly.
In addition, I am asking Alert Hawkins, Executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, for his staff's assistance in assessing whether any further avenues of assistance may exist.
Please let us know whenever we may be of service in the future.
Sincerely,
Dede Keith
Administration and Constituent Services
Office of the Governor
Enclosure
cc: The Honorable John Cornyn
The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison
The Honorable Sam Johnson
Mr. Albert Hawkins, III
Way to go Big Pharma II ! Poor people dying b/c pharma co's.
'Big pharma' slammed over drugs monopoly
1.26, Tue Nov 14 2006
http://www.itv.com/news/world_b1e050f8bc1121c4da24b4bc329df9fc.html
Poor people are dying needlessly because global pharmaceutical giants continue to monopolise drugs for diseases like cancer and Aids, Oxfam claims.
Rich countries - the US, in particular - are "bullying" developing countries to protect their pharmaceutical products, the charity claims.
It said these countries are reneging on their promise to improve public health in developing countries by adopting "selfish" protectionist policies.
Five years ago, the Doha Declaration pledged to put health before profits. It allows developing countries to access generic versions of patented drugs - which are significantly cheaper - under World Trade Organisation rules, known as TRIPS.
But Oxfam said conditions in developing countries have become significantly worse since 2001.
And according to the World Health Organisation, 74 per cent of Aids medicine is still under a monopoly, 77 per cent of Africans have no access to Aids treatment and 30 per cent of the world has no access to essential medicines.
Oxfam's head of its Make Trade Fair campaign, Celine Charveriat, accused rich countries of "breaking the spirit" of the declaration.
She said: "That hasn't happened. We've gone backwards. People are still suffering or dying needlessly.
"Global health statistics are grim but the US continues to negotiate trade deals with even stricter rules that limit how a country can use public health safeguards."
And EU countries fare little better, she said, citing the example of India fighting Swiss company Novartis to produce a generic anti-cancer drug similar to the company's drug Glivec.
Novartis is trying to repeal a law which allows Indian companies to make the generic drug at £1,400 a year per patient rather than the £14,000 which its drug would cost.
Ms Charveriat said: "If Novartis is successful, it could jeopardise India's generic export industry. India is the world's leading supplier of inexpensive generic medicines to developing countries, with approximately 67 per cent of its exports going to developing countries."
Meanwhile, a similar battle is ongoing between US drugs giant Pfizer which produces heart disease drug Norvasc and the Philippine government which has developed its own patented version, almost 90 per cent cheaper.
Way to go Big Pharma! Tamiflu psychiatric side effects...
Tamiflu linked to abnormal behavior
The flu drug's maker warns of such potential problems as suicide.
By Jia-Rui Chong, Times Staff Writer
November 14, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-sci-tamiflu14nov14,1,7172554.story?coll=la-news...
--------
The maker of the antiviral medication Tamiflu issued a new warning for the flu drug Monday, saying patients must be closely monitored for potential psychiatric problems, including delirium and suicide.
Hoffman-La Roche Inc. had been discussing the matter with the Food and Drug Administration, which has been reviewing 103 cases in which patients reported bizarre behavior, usually within a day of taking Tamiflu.
Most cases involved children under 17 and occurred in Japan. The cases include three people who fell to their deaths after taking the drug, including a 14-year-old boy who climbed atop the railing of his family's condominium, an FDA memo says.
The memo also cites the case of an 8-year-old in Japan who took one dose of Tamiflu and, about an hour and a half later, tried to run out the front door of his home. The child would not answer to his name and was growling, according to the memo, which was prepared in advance of an FDA pediatric advisory committee meeting Thursday.
Dr. Debra Birnkrant, director of the FDA's division of antiviral products, said it was not yet known if the abnormal behavior was caused by the drug or the flu, which can cause fever and delirium.
But she added, "Since there were a number of cases over the last year that we looked at, we thought it would be the prudent thing to make the public aware."
Another drug for seasonal flu, amantadine, has been associated with similar neurological side effects, mostly in the elderly, Birnkrant said.
Hoffman-La Roche said in a statement that reports of psychiatric side effects from Tamiflu were rare. "While any relative contribution of Tamiflu to these events is unknown, Roche is committed to working closely with the FDA to ensure that the product label accurately reflects the reports," it said.
The FDA's memo says 24.5 million Tamiflu prescriptions were filled in Japan from 2001 to 2005. In the U.S., 6.5 million prescriptions were filled in the same period.
Tamiflu is one of four treatments for seasonal flu in the U.S. It is usually taken to prevent or lessen the severity of the virus.
Many governments, including that of the U.S., have stockpiled the drug to combat a possible outbreak of the H5N1 avian influenza virus. Although that mainly infects birds, there have been 153 human deaths worldwide since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.
Anyone discover what news prompted volume increase the other day?
-Pioneertx
Probably news pending....
Might be significant based upon the volume and there have been some 200k-300k share blocks bought today, that's a good sign!
-Pioneertx
My 2 cents:
The key phrases to me are:
1- "has obtained clearance, ... to market"
That's big support from the government and very important, but it means they've just cleared the biggest hurdle and are getting started...still very positive.
2- "Sumit Biosciences Pvt Ltd is currently enlisting physicians at the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai to offer GenoMed's protocols"
Again, just getting started, but it's a step in a positive direction.
Someone on the OTHER BOARD slammed the PR regarding the statement that the cost is $150 per year and the per capita income in India being around $600 a year. Of course no one would spend 25% of their income on this procedure. However, per capita represents the total population of the country and that includes those millions of people making even less than $600/yr and those making more. How many make more than $600/yr in India?
I work for an IT company here in the US and we outsource alot of our IT work to 4 locations in India. Specifically Bangalor, Chennai, Nodia and Pune. We are paying our IT workers in these cities $20,000-24,000/yr and we are one of MANY businesses using the India workerforce in this capacity. Outsourcing is a widely used and exponentially growing market in India. The number of well paid workers is rising as are the salaries they are being paid.
-Pioneertx
I forwarded the press release to local TV and Newspaper here in Dallas.
Hopefully one of them will follow up on this.
-Pioneertx
Flu Pandemic Article
"Some states are scrambling to find money to pay for anti-flu drugs, so orders from states may fall short of the federal government's goal of stockpiling enough to treat 25% of the population in a flu pandemic."
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/drugs/2006-08-08-antivirals-usat_x.htm
This may bode well for Genomed's protocols if the word can be spread through the right channes.
Perhaps his contact with Missouri State Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford will assist.
-Pioneertx
From Dr Moskowitz...Q&A July 7
From the Q&A section of www.genomedics.com
When will GenoMed take off?
--------------------------------
Unlike most other biotech companies, we already have more than enough intellectual property (IP) to merit national attention. For example, we still have the only published successful treatment for West Nile virus encephalitis. We filed a patent application for our approach in 2003, and published our initial case series in July, 2004.
I still firmly believe that publicity is the only thing standing between GenoMed and a higher share price. We accomplished everything that we set out to do in 2004 when we got funding from Advanced Optics, and our share price went as high as 31 cents. We built our Healthchip(r), and are well on our way to exploiting it for diagnostics and new cancer therapeutics.
At 2 cents a share, a penny less than our share price in Dec, 2003, seems like quite a bargain to me. I'm confident that our share price will rise considerably once more people find out about our company and what it can do clinically. There's a public health emergency right now--West Nile virus has already claimed a number of victims this summer, and rumblings of the avian influenza pandemic are always in the background. We've aligned our business model precisely with our public health mission. As a result, nobody can stop us from getting word out to people that we may be able to save their lives.
Besides share price, there are a few other things we can track, like share volume and the number of visits to GenoMed's website. Both are up. Here are the page views for our website so far this year (2006):
Jan - 2,059
Feb - 2,164
March - 5,220
April - 9,217
May - 7,652
June - 13,052
So far, the numbers for July suggest that we're on track to duplicate June: 3,047 page views as of July 7, 2006.
Dave Moskowitz MD FACP
CEO
GenoMed, Inc.
Here's another interview from 5/31/06.
This was found on GeneticsHealth.com
http://www.geneticsandhealth.com/2006/05/31/interview-with-dr-david-moskowitz-of-genomed/
-Pioneertx
Vaccine makers target bird flu
Cleveland gathering to focus on challenges of potential pandemic
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Regina McEnery, Plain Dealer Reporter
http://www.cleveland.com/health/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1144571467146370.xml&coll=2
It is a miracle of science that vaccine makers can look ahead eight months and describe, with surprising accuracy, what flu strains will circle the noses and dive into the throats of vulnerable Americans every winter.
Rapidly mutating flu viruses, which change just enough each year to wreak havoc with people's immune systems, represent evolution in over- drive.
Yet until the specter of avian influenza, or A(H5N1), this annual hunt for our ounce of prevention seemed as routine as the shot itself.
But developing a vaccine against a possible pandemic flu strain, particularly one like A(H5N1) that is foreign to the immune systems of humans, presents new obstacles. Vaccine makers must not only decide which strains of A(H5N1) to target for vaccines, but also devise efficient ways to administer them, especially difficult in countries without workable public health systems.
They must decide how much vaccine to produce and how to store it.
Like all viruses, the A(H5N1) is constantly changing, so that a vaccine developed today might not work tomorrow.
The avian strain also is more virulent than the common flu, attacking several major organs rather than just the lungs.
"This influenza virus has not behaved like anything we've ever seen before," said Lakewood native Dr. Donald A. Henderson, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Biosecurity who led the World Health Organization's successful 1970s smallpox eradication campaign.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle is finding alternative methods of vaccine production that are safe, effective and quicker.
A conference Monday and Tuesday in Cleveland will highlight what governments and vaccine makers are up against in developing vaccines against the killer flu. The National Academy of Engineering organized the event because it believed its members were uniquely valuable to companies tackling vaccine production.
Medical scientists don't typically turn to engineers for advice on vaccines. But they could gain a lot from the assembly lines, maintenance schedules and other production techniques that engineers have developed and perfected over time.
At least that is the thinking of engineering professors at Case Western Reserve University who conceived the idea of merging cutting-edge vaccine science with production realities. The goal of the two-day series of lectures by some of the biggest players in the vaccine world is to stimulate ideas and solutions among engineers, particularly younger scientists.
The Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., agreed to co-sponsor the event, cementing the unusual pairing of public health and production lines. Another measure of the weight the meeting carries in the scientific community is the keynote speaker, Dr. Klaus Stohr, a World Health Organization expert in Switzerland whose name is synonymous with avian influenza. Stohr is largely responsible for persuading governments about three years ago to begin preparing for the possibility of a pandemic.
Scientists can't predict whether the virus that remains largely confined to birds will ever gain the ability to transmit rapidly from person-to-person.
But as the conference convenes, the virus continues its march, so far causing outbreaks in millions of birds in more than 40 countries and infecting nearly 200 humans. It lacks only the ability to spread quickly among people to meet the criteria for a pandemic, according to a March editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Safe and effective vaccines are likely to be the single most important public health tool for decreasing the morbidity, mortality and economic effects of pandemic influenza -- particularly in view of the reported resistance of influenza A (H5N1) to antiviral agents," wrote Dr. Gregory Poland, of the Mayo Vaccine Research Group in Rochester, Minn.
Finding faster methods
Producing effective avian flu vaccines may be the biggest race against time the industry has ever faced. So drug companies and biotech firms are working on novel approaches to making vaccines, and addressing logistical questions such as whether it is better to stockpile vaccines or just the raw materials.
Two companies at work on three vaccines will give updates at the Cleveland conference.
Paris-based Sanofi-Pasteur, which developed a vaccine from eggs fertilized at its Swiftwater, Pa., manufacturing facility, has one A (H5N1) vaccine in clinical trials, and another is close to the starting gate. The second one uses cell cultures, an alternative to eggs, to grow the virus.
A California competitor, Chiron Corporation, is developing vaccines made with cell-culture technology.
The traditional egg-based method used to make garden-variety flu vaccines creates its own set of obstacles. The approach relies on millions of chicken embryos to grow the virus, but vaccine manufacturers face limits to the number of eggs that can be produced.
A worrisome possibility is that migratory birds will spread the A(H5N1) virus to the vaccine manufacturers' poultry supplies.
The timing of vaccine production also presents a challenge. Because the virus keeps changing, vaccines produced today that provide protection against current A(H5N1) strains will quickly lose their effectiveness, costing governments millions of dollars in wasted inventory.
Molecular biologist Dr. Alan Shaw, who runs a New Jersey company developing new vaccine technology, believes that the answer to many of the problems may be found in an unexpected place -- a deadly bacteria.
Shaw's company, Vaxinnate, is close to testing an experimental flu vaccine that its laboratory cooked up in E. coli. Most people associate the microorganism with intestinal maladies traced to contaminated food, but the bacteria can be defused of its danger and used as a conduit for a flu vaccine.
In this case, E. coli bacteria provide a vehicle for a protein antigen in flu viruses known as M3, which triggers an immune response to fight infection.
"It's not hard to make; in fact, it's dead easy to make," said Shaw, who will speak at the vaccine conference Tuesday. "E. coli is faster, cheap and clean."
Logistical challenges
Scientists are looking at cells of insects, primarily butterflies, as other possible ways to transport the M3 protein. Other approaches consider getting ahead of a pandemic by vaccinating people in Asia, where most of the human cases have been detected.
Most of the vaccine anxiety revolves around the early stage of vaccine production, but Chicago-based Baxter BioPharma Solutions is pondering the practical question: Is it better to mass produce and stockpile a vaccine or simply store the raw materials and ramp up if a pandemic hits? The question is important because vaccines in their finished form -- in vials or syringes -- have a shorter shelf life than raw materials.
The advantage is that the finished product can be administered in a flash. Stockpiling raw materials -- the actual antigens that produce the immune response that protects people from A(H5N1) -- may buy vaccine makers more time but delay administration of the vaccines.
Shawn Knopp, a pharmaceutical scientist and project manager at BioPharma, said flu vaccine manufacturers typically tie production levels to anticipated market demand, a calculation usually based on the number of flu shots used the previous year. With A(H5N1), vaccine makers must base their capacity on unknown demand. And the reality is that the bird flu may never develop into a human pandemic.
The financial realities are another way engineers may be able to help -- by advising vaccine makers on ways to balance their social obligation with high manufacturing costs, Knopp said. The heavy casualties of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic provide a stark reminder of what's at stake.
"We need a strategy to quickly prepare with the right vaccine at the right time," he said. "You are talking about having an emergency where 300 million doses may be required. The last time there was a pandemic, there wasn't an adequate response and a lot of people died."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
rmcenery@plaind.com, 216-999-5338
Bird flu poised for U.S. Arrival
Spring migration is expected to bring virus into Alaska.
By Margaret Talev -- Bee Washington Bureau
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, March 20, 2006
Story appeared on Page A1 of The Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14232549p-15054692c.html
WASHINGTON - Springtime is here and, with it, fevered chirping about bird flu.
Today, three Cabinet secretaries will present an update on national preparedness including bird testing, poultry industry protections, anti-smuggling measures, vaccine development and the status of state and local emergency planning.
The fear is this: One day in the next few weeks, flocks of wild birds from Asia will wing northeast across the Bering Strait to Alaska, where they'll join other birds heading north from their winter homes in the United States and points south.
As they embark on their annual spring migration, Asian ducks and geese may be carrying unwelcome baggage - the highly virulent H5N1 avian flu virus - that they could pass on to their American neighbors.
"It is only a matter of time before we discover H5N1 birds in America," Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said in a report last week.
Leavitt is in the midst of a multi-city tour, answering questions about the virus' spread globally and telling Americans how to respond should it reach U.S. shores. He is asking people not to panic. Even if the virus should reach birds here, that doesn't mean people are at risk.
A confluence of science and politics is at work: The change of seasons from winter to spring will bring wild birds from Asia and the continental United States to commingle while they nest and molt in Alaska.
While U.S. birds, including ducks, geese and swans, follow four major migratory patterns, it is the Pacific Flyway, the route across Alaska and down through the Western states to Mexico, that scientists predict as the most likely conduit should avian flu spread here through wild birds. By summer, scientists could know how great that risk might be.
The H5N1 avian flu virus has remained resilient as it makes its way around the globe, across Asia into Europe and Africa. It has touched at least 43 countries, scientists say, overwhelmingly affecting birds but also being transmitted across species.
This month brought reports of the deaths of three women and a dog in Azerbaijan and of a cat in Germany in which bird flu is suspected. Egypt on Sunday reported its second human case of bird flu while Israel slaughtered hundreds of thousands of birds and confirmed the disease had spread to poultry there.
The virus has been mutating. Scientists have identified at least a half-dozen sub-lineages of the H5N1 strain, at least two of which can be fatal to people, prompting a call for new vaccine development.
Since 2003, the World Health Organization has confirmed 177 human cases overseas, more than half of which were fatal.
Scientists say April through September of this year could tell whether the disease will spread to the United States via migratory birds. If it does, that doesn't necessarily mean that humans, the poultry industry, pets, airline travel or the economy overall will be afflicted.
Globally, the disease has not been spread directly from wild birds to humans but from people handling diseased live or uncooked poultry.
Disease specialists are hoping bio-security measures will insulate poultry farms and processing plants from outside infection - a proposition that's being tested in Western Europe, where the virus already has spread.
Still, with the high fatality rate in those unusual cases of human transmission, and with past experience of flu pandemics, U.S. officials are on guard for any incursion of bird flu into the country. The pandemic of 1918 killed at least 40 million people, according to world health statistics.
The annual appropriations process on Capitol Hill is gearing up. Late last year, President Bush sought $7.1 billion for avian flu preparations. Congress at the time gave him about half, or $3.8 billion.
There has been a major ramping up in the testing of thousands of live birds and hunted birds this year. The emphasis now is in Alaska. Each day, biologists are trapping birds and probing them with nylon-tipped swabs for samples of their feces and cells from their digestive tracts before tagging them and setting them free.
These samples are taken to the Diagnostic Virology Laboratory at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis. There, scientists test the samples for viral influenza, preserve them and inject them into chicken eggs to be replicated for research. No worrisome cases have been identified.
By late summer, that lab alone expects to be processing up to 1,500 samples a day. The Agriculture Department is testing thousands of samples as well.
During the autumn, as birds head south again and hunters take to the woods, much of the focus will shift to Washington, Oregon and California. Other spots throughout the country also are being monitored.
"We haven't bet the farm on just Alaska," said Hon Ip, director of the virology lab in Wisconsin and a leading bird flu expert. "We have people all over the place. We are training wildlife biologists, rangers and, in some places, the public health officers as to what to look for."
Whether the Bush administration's preparations for a pandemic that may never come amount to prudent planning or an overreaction has been a subject of debate among government spending experts.
But in the scientific community, there is ample concern. In most of the outbreaks in Southeast Asia in the past couple of years, Ip said, the movement of the virus was associated with the legal and illegal spread of poultry products. But with the recent spread of H5N1 in Europe, the flu tracked with the movement of wild birds, and absent the movement of questionable poultry.
"That highlights the need for a surveillance program such as we're starting in North America," Ip said.
As it now exists, he said, H5N1 has been fairly ineffective as a virus in attacking humans. "The situation in Southeast Asia has been brewing nine years now and a lot of people live in close proximity to a lot of birds. Even with that level of contact, less than 100 people have died."
The concern, he said, is that the virus could mutate and catch everyone off guard.
"People need to stay educated," he said. "What used to be OK a couple months ago may not be anymore, if it comes."
Graphic: Bird flu closing on North America
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BIRD FLU Q&A
Q: Do I have to worry about catching bird flu, or is the threat of a pandemic overblown?
A: If you live in the United States, there has yet to be a reported case of birds, animals or humans with the H5N1 virus. What has scientists concerned is that the disease has been moving west, from Asia into Europe and Africa, touching at least 43 countries and killing millions of birds since 2003. It appears to be spreading via wild birds as well as poultry. Between this spring and autumn, migratory birds could bring the virus to the United States.
Q: If it hits the United States, how quickly will avian flu spread?
A: That depends on how the virus mutates between now and then. It also depends on the controls in place in the poultry industry, the public health infrastructure, and airlines and other transit systems; how quickly and effectively vaccines and treatments could be produced and distributed; and whether uninfected people could sequester themselves from contagious people soon enough, if necessary. The fatality rate is more than 50 percent.
Q: Can I get bird flu from eating chicken?
A: Not if it's properly cooked, officials say. That means heating bird meat all the way through to at least 158 degrees Fahrenheit - no pink meat - according to the World Health Organization, and cooking eggs until the yolks set.
Q: Isn't there a bird flu vaccine?
A: Not really. Vaccines are produced each year for the seasonal flu, and some antiviral prescription drugs can reduce seasonal flu symptoms. These might provide some relief but are not considered sufficient. Vaccine for the H5N1 virus is under development.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
• Visit the U.S. government's Web site, www.pandemicflu.gov, or call (800) 232-4636
• The World Health Organization's site is www.who.int/en/
• The World Organization for Animal Health's site is www.oie.int
About the writer:
The Bee's Margaret Talev can be reached at (202) 383-0010 or mtalev@mcclatchydc.com. Knight Ridder Newspapers and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
LOL
Perhaps that's all the big shots needed to jump on the GMED Bandwagon....
I'm anticipating a decent news release shortly based on the move we are seeing.
- pioneertx
Great Job Updating The Board!
Thanks eb0783 for keeping the board up to date and adding the new info.
I'm still long on GMED!
-pioneertx
The Birdflu Board takes a "Premiere" subscription to post I just found out.
I don't have that level....
Let me see what I can do.
PT
Should we post the Trial on the Bird Flu Ihub Board?
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=4506
-Pioneertx
Thanks for the good information all.
Still Long GMED.
-Pioneertx
It's about the $
Genomed has tried contacting them I'm sure, just as with the west nile treatment and the idea that over-activity of a single enzyme, angiotensin I-converting enzyme ("ACE"), may be behind many diseases.
Dr. Moskowitz is fighting the established healthcare system and the large pharmaceuticals who see $ signs from us getting sick.
It will take time to change the perception that our current way of treating illness is not the best.
-Pioneertx
Price is up and volume !!!
Does anyone know what has happened?
I cannot find any news as of yet.
Pioneertx
GMED Patent News
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=GMED:US&sid=a1KRMo...
--------------------------------------------------------
GenoMed to Be Awarded First Patent, Speeding Up Lung Maturation
in Babies
ST. LOUIS, May 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GenoMed, Inc. -- ("the Company" or "GenoMed") (Pink Sheets: GMED), a St. Louis, Missouri-based biotechnology company, announced today that the US Patent Office has allowed claims and will be following up with an issued patent shortly on the Company's treatment to speed up lung development in babies born prematurely.
Currently, "premies" are kept on a mechanical ventilator until their lungs mature. In 1995, the average length of stay was 43 days, longer than any other reason for hospitalization. The total cost of treatment was over $53,000 per infant. That year, 1995, a total of 5,770 babies were cared for at 60 university hospitals at a total cost of $198 million. Only cardiac catheterization cost more ($229 million).
GenoMed's treatment involves a growth factor that is present throughout pregnancy in amniotic fluid, and which is responsible for normal lung development. GenoMed's Chief Medical Officer and CEO, David Moskowitz, MD, established the precise values of the growth factor at different times in pregnancy. Right before a baby is born, the level of the growth factor doubles, probably accounting for the burst in lung development that normally happens before birth. In babies born prematurely, this last burst of lung development fails to happen, and they must be kept on mechanical ventilation for weeks at a time, at huge expense.
GenoMed's treatment has not been used yet in humans, although animal studies have already shown promise. The treatment will require well-designed clinical trials and FDA approval before it can be used widely. The advantage of Dr. Moskowitz's data is that the levels of the growth factor normally present can be used in clinical trials. In this way, just enough growth factor can be used to achieve the desired effect (proper lung development), but higher doses can be avoided, with their risk for unwanted side effects.
About GenoMed
GenoMed is a Next Generation DM(TM) company that translates knowledge of disease pathways into better patient outcomes so as to lower healthcare costs. GenoMed is currently marketing its patent-pending protocols for preventing kidney dialysis due to high blood pressure or diabetes, and slowing down emphysema. The Company has recently developed a genomic Healthchip(R) to predict the six most common cancers in Caucasians: breast, colon, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate. Testing is available on a research basis.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those statements pertaining to the beneficial nature of the drug therapy that aids in lung development in babies. The words or phrases "would be," "will allow," "intends to," "will likely result," "are expected to," or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements." Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties. Among other things, competition from existing or new competitors will impact our business; our research and development is subject to economic, regulatory, governmental, and technological factors; and our expectations about the growth factor may not be borne out by actual clinical experience, or the treatment may cause unacceptable side effects. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, we do not undertake, and the Company specifically disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement.
SOURCE GenoMed, Inc.
CONTACT: David Moskowitz MD of GenoMed, Inc., +1-314-983-9933 -0- May/26/2005 13:30 GMT
NEWS-GenoMed CEO Invited to Speak at Harvard Medical School 25th Class Symposium
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ST. LOUIS--(May 5, 2005)--GenoMed Inc. ("the Company" or "GenoMed") (National Quotation Bureau's Pink Sheets Symbol GMED) announced today that its CEO, David Moskowitz MD, has been invited to speak on Clinical Genomics at the 25th Class Symposium at Harvard Medical School on June 9, 2005 (http://134.174.17.106/alumni/program-05.pdf).
Said Dr. Moskowitz, "It's a tremendous honor to be selected to speak at our 25th medical class reunion. Since publishing three years ago that angiotensin I-converting enzyme ('ACE') might be the aging gene, I've been trying hard to get the word out. Last week at 'World DNA and Genome Day' in Dalian, China, the reception was quite enthusiastic. Speaking at Harvard next month should be equally productive. I've already gotten inquiries from Harvard Medical School alumni who've seen the Class Day program. The point of my talk will be that all physicians should be practicing clinical genomics already."
Added Dr. Moskowitz, "GenoMed's primary goal right now is to educate the 80 million American Baby Boomers and their physicians, not to mention the rest of the world, that medicine has already been revolutionized. Unfortunately, an entire cohort of kidney patients is just now going on dialysis in the U.S. because their physicians didn't hear about our published results three years ago. If we'd gotten to these patients then, we could have kept them off the kidney machine now. Getting the word out to patients and their physicians in time is absolutely critical. Disease doesn't wait."
About GenoMed
GenoMed, Inc. is a Next Generation DM(TM) company whose mission is to improve patient outcomes by identifying the molecular pathways that cause disease. Disease Management (DM) is the only business in healthcare which profits by lowering healthcare costs. GenoMed uses clinical genomics to keep patients healthier and out of the hospital. A St. Louis Business Journal article (http://www.stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2002/05/13/story8.html) first reported that GenoMed applied for patents based on its finding that the ACE gene is associated with many common diseases.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward looking statements, including those statements pertaining to GenoMed, Inc.'s (the Company's) treatments. The words or phrases "ought to," "should," "may," or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: (a) whether ACE is the major aging gene; (b) whether we will have sufficient financing to conduct our research and development; and (c) our research and development being subject to other economic, regulatory, governmental, and technological factors. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, we specifically disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement.
No. See below.
This is from Genomed's "Questions & Answers" section of it's website.
http://www.genomedics.com/investor/dsp_qa.cfm
______________________________________________________________
Dear David
I always appreciate that you have taken time to reply to my e mails .It seems like good news from congress and hopefully
you will get to prove on a large scale that your protocols work .Please correct me if I am wrong but I get the impression that talking of being acquired by a large pharma .could this not be bad fopr small shareholders like me if Genomed was bought up very cheaply .I have hled on to these shares for quite a while and even bought more in the twenties .In your PR I got the impression you wanted to sell out ,I hope this is not so .
Regards
==============================================================
Dear______,
There's no way we'd sell out cheaply, not when each wild card patent would be worth two years of a $3 billion a year drug. We may have the makings of 20 or 30 of these wild card patents. Do the math: $3 B/yr x 2 yr/wild-card x 30 wild-card patents = $180 B.
We'd also have to retain full operational control over our Next Generation DM(tm) activities in any acquisition.
So if we get acquired, it won't be cheap. My goal remains to be huge ourselves. I just wanted people to have some idea of the magnitude of what we might be sitting on, since (a) preventing kidney dialysis, (b) significantly delaying emphysema, (c) finding the aging gene for all vertebrate species, (d) being able to predict which Caucasians will get which of the top six solid cancers, (e) having a potential broad-spectrum anti-viral treatment, (f) having a SNPnet which can efficiently find predisposition genes for all cancers in all ethnic groups, and (g) inventing a business model that finally makes preventive medicine profitable, have evidently not been enough to be valued by the market at more than 6 cents a share.
All I can say is, what a tough audience! Then again, maybe our problem remains lack of publicity. I continue to think that 80 million Baby Boomers might appreciate knowing about (c), at the very least. Unless they still think they're going to live forever, as we did in 1968.
Yours sincerely,
Dave Moskowitz MD
______________________________________________________________
BioShield II Specifically Mentions GMed's Novel Anti-viral Approach
May 03, 2005 09:30:00 AM ET
ST. LOUIS, May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GenoMed, Inc.-- ("the Company" or "GenoMed") (OTC: GMED), a St. Louis, Missouri-based Next Generation Disease Management company, announced today that testing of its broad-spectrum anti- viral approach has been included in BioShield II, the landmark anti- bioterrorism bill introduced last week in the U.S. Senate by Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Sam Brownback (R-KS).
A part of the bill reads:
"CHAPTER 5-REPORT AND ADMINISTRATION. SEC. 2151. REPORT TO CONGRESS. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Medical Readiness and Response of the Department of Homeland Security and the Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease of the National Institutes of Health, shall submit a report to Congress that describes alternatives to traditional vaccines and anti-viral therapeutics for viral diseases, including negative immunomodulation compounds that partially suppress a macrophage-dependent innate immune response of an individual to viral pathogens, in order to decrease morbidity and mortality from an excessive immune response."
This language exactly describes GenoMed's patent-pending method to gently suppress the innate immune response in order to treat most viral diseases in the general population.
Said Dr. Moskowitz, GenoMed's CEO and Chief Medical Officer, "BioShield II was introduced last week to enthusiastic support from the Infectious Disease community in the U.S. If the bill is passed, GenoMed may benefit enormously. First, we would gladly welcome government support for our work. We're already testing our approach against Marburg virus in Angola. Cooperation by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) could jump-start our annual national trial against West Nile virus encephalitis in the U.S., which is now in its third summer. The World Health Organization (WHO) could help us test our approach against avian influenza in countries like Vietnam, as well as in places where viruses like Ebola and Dengue are endemic."
Dr. Moskowitz continued, "If it's passed, the 'wild-card' patent feature of BioShield II could create a very interesting business opportunity for GenoMed. We may be in the position of having a number of 'wild-card' patents, perhaps one for each of the listed diseases in the bill which we could treat. A drug company interested in extending the patent life of any of its own blockbuster drugs might think about acquiring GenoMed just for the 'wild-card' patents we might own."
About GenoMed
GenoMed has found what it believes to be the "master" disease gene, and has already been able to prevent kidney failure due to diabetes and hypertension in whites, blacks and Hispanics; dramatically delay the progression of terminal emphysema; and start to see treatment successes for autoimmune diseases, West Nile virus encephalitis, and cancer. GenoMed has recently found several thousand genes for the top six solid cancers -- breast, colon, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate -- and expects to have new diagnostic tools ready for clinical trials soon, with new cancer chemotherapy to follow.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those statements pertaining to GenoMed, Inc.'s (the Company's) finances and treatments. The words or phrases "ought to," "should," "could," "may," or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward- looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to our research and development being subject to scientific, economic, regulatory, governmental, and technological factors. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, we specifically disclaim any obligation to update any forward- looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement.
© 2005 PRNewswire
GenoMed Completes First Version of Healthchip(R) for Cancer
Prediction
ST. LOUIS, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GenoMed, Inc. (Pink Sheets: GMED) a Next Generation Disease Management company, said today that it has constructed a Healthchip(R) which may serve as an early warning system for the top six common cancers in whites: breast, colon, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate.
GenoMed's Healthchip(R) is made up of many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In internal testing, the Healthchip(R) correctly identified the type of cancer in 85% of cases. None of the normals were misdiagnosed. More testing is required to confirm these results.
The well known breast cancer genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, account for only 5% of breast cancers in white women. GenoMed's SNPs may pick up the remaining 95% of sporadic breast cancer cases in white women, i.e. in women without a strong family history of breast cancer.
Said Dr. David Moskowitz, GenoMed's chairman and chief executive officer, "It's important for any screening test to have as few false positives as possible. GenoMed's Healthchip(R) currently has none."
The test for mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes costs about $1,200, has been available for about a decade, and has been reimbursed by a handful of insurance plans for the past few years. GenoMed's test is currently available for research purposes only, and is not yet reimbursable by any health plan. Please contact Dr. Moskowitz at dwmoskowitz@genomed.com to inquire about GenoMed's testing program.
About GenoMed
GenoMed is leading the clinical revolution which knowledge of disease genes has already begun. GenoMed is currently marketing its protocols to prevent kidney failure due to high blood pressure and diabetes, and to delay the progression of emphysema. The company also conducts basic research to find genes that cause different diseases and clinical research to test protocols that look promising for improving patient outcomes. The company plans next to collect patient samples from additional cancer types, and additional ethnic groups so as to increase the scope and usefulness of its Healthchip(R).
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to GenoMed, Inc.'s (The Company's) finances and treatments. The words or phrases "ought to, "should," "could, "may," or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to: (a) whether subsequent research confirms that the SNPs we've found are truly linked to common cancers; and (b) our research and development being subject to economic, regulatory, governmental and technological factors. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, we specifically disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement.
SOURCE GenoMed, Inc.
CONTACT: David Moskowitz MD, of GenoMed, Inc.,
tel. +1-314-983-9933
June 22 -24 The Disease Management Colloquium
Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia.
Dr Moskowitz will be one of the "Featured Faculty"
http://www.dmconferences.com
"The Colloquium seeks to better educate government agencies, the health care industry (including health plans and providers), employers, and the general public about the important role disease management programs play in improving health care quality and outcomes for persons subject to chronic conditions."
Dr Moskowitz will be one of the "Featured Faculty" and leading discussions on:
Day I - Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - Track IA: Evidence Based Medicine
* Point/Counterpoint: "Is there Value in Evidence Based Medicine for Disease Management?"*
Day II
Thursday, June 23, 2005 - Track IIB: Use of Pay for Performance Concepts: Physician and Consumer Incentives in Disease Management
* Financial Incentives: Preventive Molecular Medicine*
The Overview by Dr. David B. Nash sums up the conference objectives and focus on disease management and the future of the healthcare system.
http://www.dmconferences.com/overview.html
-Pioneertx
BigTips may have called it. 1.2 million shares have traded in the last 15 minutes and the bid is heading up for the moment.
I hope the dip is over, this has been a rough ride....
-Pioneertx
Please feel free to moderate.
I think it's a great idea!
I continue to be encouraged by what I see from Genomed!!
Pioneertx
Press Release for Genomed Inc
Make a Date with GenoMed on Women's Heart Health Day
2/8/2005 9:30:10 AM
ST. LOUIS, Feb 08, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- GenoMed, Inc. ("the Company" or "GenoMed") (Pink Sheets: GMED), a medical genomics and Next Generation DM(TM) company, announced today that its treatments are just what the doctor ordered for National Women's Heart Health Day, which is being commemorated next week, February 18th.
The two major causes of heart disease, in women as well as men, are diabetes and high blood pressure. Women are catching up to men in their rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. These rates are especially high for African American, Hispanic, and Native American pre- menopausal women, and all women after the menopause.
In all, diabetes and high blood pressure affect 80 million Americans, and over 700 million people worldwide. Women make up nearly half of patients worldwide.
Diabetes and high blood pressure kill because of the complications they cause: heart disease including heart attacks and congestive heart failure; strokes; poor circulation; and kidney disease. Heart disease and kidney disease go hand in hand. Patients with kidney disease almost always die of heart disease.
Ethnic background is a huge factor. High blood pressure strikes African- Americans about twice as often as whites. A person with high blood pressure is five times more likely to end up on kidney dialysis if they're African- American than if they're white. So an African-American woman or man has a ten- fold higher risk of going on kidney dialysis than a Caucasian. Ask any African-American: they're much more likely to have a relative on kidney dialysis than the average Caucasian.
GenoMed has published the only method to reverse kidney failure due to adult-onset diabetes or high blood pressure. But the method, which is patent- pending, must be started early, before a person has lost more than half of their kidney function.
At this early stage, patients with high blood pressure or diabetes are still being seen by their primary care doctor, not by a kidney specialist. Most patients at this early stage have not even been told that they have kidney failure. So patient and physician education is necessary.
Patients have found that joining GenoMed's COIP(R) (Clinical Outcomes Improvement Program) is cost-effective, allowing them not only to obtain a license to use GenoMed's treatment, but also to pay for the education and participation of their primary care physician.
Dr. David Moskowitz, GenoMed's CEO and Chief Medical Officer, said, "Heart disease due to high blood pressure or diabetes is increasing in this country, in large part because the entire population is getting older. In 2000 there were 200,000 patients on kidney dialysis. In 2010 there will be 300,000. Two- thirds of Americans die of heart disease. The epidemic of heart and kidney disease is a public health emergency. We would like people to know that a cure exists."
About GenoMed
GenoMed, Inc. is a Next Generation DM(TM) company already delivering preventive molecular medicine. The Company's "recipes" are patent-pending, and GenoMed is eager to license them to patients and their physicians.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those statements pertaining to GenoMed, Inc.'s (the Company's) treatments and business model. The words or phrases "would be," "ought to," "should," "may," or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward- looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, including economic, regulatory, governmental, and technological factors. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, we do not undertake, and specifically disclaim any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement.
SOURCE GenoMed, Inc.
David Moskowitz MD of GenoMed, Inc., +1-314-983-9933, dwmoskowitz@genomed.com
http://www.prnewswire.com
Copyright (C) 2005 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
"Buy on rumor, sell on news."
This old addage almost always rings true in the stock market.
My experience tells me there's some news of significance that insiders know about causing them to buy shares. That being as it is, if the previous press release was truly newsworthy to investors we should have seen a rise in price before the press release, but we did not.
I am interested to see what news comes out shortly.
Of course, I could be wrong and past performance in no way guarantees future results.
-Pioneertx
BigTips, you can get us a penny/day keep up the good work!
Pretty funny....
-Pioneertx
Foundations of a solid business model continue to be built by Dr. Moskowitz and his team!
Great information, Midas!
-Pioneertx
Press Release for Genomed Inc
GenoMed Finds Two Genes Linked to Common Cancers
1/13/2005 9:30:09 AM
ST. LOUIS, Jan 13, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- GenoMed, Inc. (Pink Sheets: GMED), a Next Generation DM(TM) (Disease Management) company which finds disease-causing genes in order to improve patient outcomes, announced today that it has filed a patent application on two genes linked to common cancers. These are the first new disease genes the company has filed on since its multiple patent applications about ACE, a "master" disease gene.
The first gene, involved in copying DNA, was linked specifically to pancreatic and ovarian cancers, which are notoriously hard to diagnose at an early stage. It could help in the early diagnosis of patients at high risk for these cancers, as well as serve as a possible drug target for treatment of these poorly treatable diseases.
The second gene codes for a scaffolding protein involved in building protein networks inside the cell. It was linked to all six common cancers (lung, colon, breast, prostate, ovarian, and pancreatic), and may lead to new broad-spectrum chemotherapeutic agents.
Said Dr. David Moskowitz, GenoMed's CEO and Chief Medical Officer, "We still have to validate our initial results. The best news is that our conveyor belt for finding new disease genes is up and running. We're now testing one or two genes a week in our own lab, and will soon be testing tens of thousands of genes at a time through our collaboration with Genome Quebec."
About GenoMed
GenoMed is leading the clinical revolution which knowledge of disease genes has already made possible. GenoMed is currently marketing its protocols to prevent the need for kidney dialysis due to high blood pressure and diabetes, and to delay the progression of emphysema. The company also conducts basic research to find the genes which cause different diseases, and clinical research to test protocols which look promising for improving patient outcomes. The value of a single disease gene was estimated at $40-80 million by Daniel Cohen of Genset in 1999.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those statements pertaining to GenoMed, Inc.'s (the Company's) finances and treatments. The words or phrases "ought to," "should," "could," "may," or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward- looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: (a) whether subsequent research confirms that the genes we've found are truly linked to common cancers, (b) whether Daniel Cohen was right that each disease gene will be worth $40-80 million, and (c) our research and development being subject to other economic, regulatory, governmental, and technological factors. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, we specifically disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement.
SOURCE GenoMed, Inc.
David W. Moskowitz MD, CEO of GenoMed, Inc., +1-314-983-9933, or
dwmoskowitz@genomed.com
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