I think this rumor of a deal between agph and imnr is just that, a rumor. Especially when these statements are made:
>IMNR and AGPH would fit together well. AGPH is a one-stock company >with a great cash flow for next two years but a poor pipeline. IMNR >has a great pipeline but insufficient cash to play all the options. (from yahoo chat-imnr)
A poor pipeline???? Agouron???
Besides Viracept, Agouron's "one product" with estimated sales of approximately $375 million or so, ending June 30, 1998,
Agouron has two drugs in clinical trials:
AG3340, the MMPI and anti-angiogenesis inhibitor is in phase II/III; AG2034, the GART inhibitor is in phase I;
plus Agouron has three drugs in pre-clinical trials and eight drugs are in the research stage.
Didn't someone from the imnr thread once post on the SI agph thread that Dr. Walker said at the Retro conference in Chicago that immunotherapy was the only way to go for HIV, and that Immune Response had the only treatment that worked?
Agouron has said they are exploring the licensing of a new product, possibly anti-HIV. The rest is speculation and imo, there is a lot of hype coming from this latest barrage of posts on the Immune Response thread ....coinciding with the imnr board meeting.
OTOH, this area of immune therapy is very promising and many companies and institutions are involved in different types of research on immune reconstitution as well as preventing the initial HIV infection through vaccines.
"Ideally new immune-based therapies could be used to strengthen patients' immune systems against HIV and other pathogens while their HIV levels are being suppressed by HAART. Thus if HIV returns -- if people on HAART experience "virologic failure" -- patients' immune systems would be better equipped to control HIV in the presence of waning antiretroviral efficacy. HAART may provide a window of opportunity during which optimal host immunity to HIV (and other pathogens) may be restored, to try to achieve the same anti-HIV responses that long term non-progressors show.
For some information: healthcg.com
Proceedings of the "Immune Function and Surrogate Markers:
Setting the Goal Line conference, Jan 9-11, 1998.
And nam.org.uk
AIDS Treatment update: Rebuilding Immunity
New hope that the immune system may rebuild itself once HIV is suppressed. April 1998.
|
