Not that VERS has the solution to this problem, but the world news isn't good for those suffering from this mystery infection..
"ASSOCIATED PRESS
FRANKFURT, Germany, March 16 — Doctors on Sunday monitored a man believed to be the first in Europe infected with a mysterious respiratory illness that has spread rapidly in Asia and prompted a rare global health alert. "
As for VERS, on January 6, 2003 they announced Phase II results for anidulafungin just before they presented at the JP Morgan H&Q Healthcare Conference that afternoon. They have promised Phase III results for esophageal candidiasis this Q and with them presenting on Tuesday at the Cowan Healthcare Conference, this would be an excellent time for this release (IMO).
Going back to some dated information, I found the BusinessWeek article (Oct. 9, 2000) very interesting. From the article...."VERS compound is particularly intriguing to researchers. In a study of patients with esophageal fungal infections, VERS scientist found that a low dose of VEC wiped out infections of Candida 85% of the time. Results of a separate study indicated that a higher dose was safe and had no serious side effects. The company is now measuring VEC's effectiveness at this higher dose to see if it can boost the patients' response rates to nearly 100%."
We should know this coming week.....whether the 85% rate can be increased closer to 100%, but regardless, the 85% still beats the current treatment drugs that only have a response rates of between 56%-81%. |
