Biotech Values

[dewophile]

re critique:

1. it quotes 2 medical researchers (Dr brown from columbia was also quoted and felt similarly)..it is true dieterich may be biased as he is a consultant, but the article also mentioned he participates in vx-950 trials as well, so I'm not sure the extent of bias. dr. brown, to my knowledge, has no close ties to idix

2. the size of themarket is going to remain huge. first off it is not clear vx-950 will beat nm-283 to market. even if it does, as long as both perform well, it's going to be neck and neck. vx-950 probably won't work against non-genotype 1 (and polymerase inhibitors in theory should, as they are not designed to be geno 1 specific). vx-950 thus far primarily includes riba-peg follow on...the same treatment which prevents most hep C patients from taking meds in the first place. And, most people don't even know they have hep C as it is indolent for years, so even if vx-950 had a significant first mover advantage (and not clear it will), the population size will remain HUGE

3. Drugs with FDA agreed protocols in registration-type trials shouldn't be subject to a new "standard" (whether clinicians post-approval will Rx those meds is another story..i have expounded on the numerous complicated scenarios in hep c that shoudl allow more than 1 direct antiviral to play a role clinically even if antiviarl effect inferior)

my 2 cents