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Non-Tech : Bill Wexler's Dog Pound -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mchip who wrote (2117)	7/14/1999 7:32:00 AM
From: Mike M	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10293

Putting the merits or not of VPHM aside, don't you see VPHM as a competitor to GUMM? and with actual FDA trials. What were you trying to point out Mike? A competitor to Zicam...possibly...If they get through trials in 2001... But it only cuts cold time in half (versus 87% for Zicam), requires a prescription and will cost a ton of money as a result of development costs....Then I hear Hank say that it only works for about 50% of the viruses and Zicam's approach purportedly works for all viruses that invade the ICAM Receptor... However, that was not my point...the Insana piece was not nearly as specific to the limitations addressed by Frank....the Morgan Stanley analyst was exuberant. My guess is that the analyst was possibly too exuberant for a drug that has an awful lot of trials left and may work no better than Hank suggests. It is problematic whether the drug will ever see the light of day. The part about the billion dollar potential revenue is puzzling...and my guess, doubtful...

To: mchip who wrote (2117)	7/14/1999 8:52:00 AM
From: out_of_the_loop	Respond to of 10293

Last line is for Wexler I am not concerned about pleconaril because it is a prescription drug that will be: 1. Expensive 2. Not available easily to the general public. 3. Two years too late by the time it might be considered any competition. 4. available after you have a cold for several days. What percent of people can get into see a doctor for a COLD in less than a day? It will take more than 2 days to get to a doctor to obtain. See #2. You will be able to buy Zicam in any Walmart, KMart,Buy-Rite,Albertosn's, Target, and many others just 8-12 weeks from NOW. 5. Being tested on especially aggressive upper respiratory tract infections. The only place it might be competition is in the hospitalized immunosuppressed. The HMOs might pay for Zicam as a first line, but I doubt the other as a first line without "approval". 6. Who knows the side effects? Antivirals often have unpleasant side effects that we probably do not need to get into. While I understand your curiosity and certainly would monitor the situation, I think in 1999-2000 Zicam is the winner. The effectiveness of pleconaril will not take away any of the cost and OTC advantages of Zicam since people are generally pretty practical these days when it comes to cheaper, faster alternatives. <b?For Wexler, if the New England Journal of Medicine publishes the Zicam study, will you still consider it a fraud? If not, would you retract your statements at that time?