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Biotech / Medical : GUMM - Eliminate the Common Cold -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DanZ who wrote (1863)	12/9/1999 3:37:00 PM
From: Hank	Respond to of 5582

"Isn't your real issue that Gum Tech is selling Zicam before the study has been published?" No Dan. My real issue is that GUMM is selling Zicam and making specific claims regarding it's efficacy before the studies are published. If you go into any nutritional store, say a GNC, you'll find hundreds of homeopathic remedies for various maladies in addition the vitamins etc. The difference between those products and Zicam is that those products are not labelled with any specific claims regarding what the product will or will not do for you. They are only labelled with instructions for taking the product. That's because those products have never undergone the necessary clinical tests that would allow them to make any claims. I understand that under the rules governing homeopathic remedies, GUMM is allowed to make these claims about Zicam. What I am saying is that, in my opinion, they shouldn't be. The studies that have been done are marginal, at best. I think the FDA needs to stiffen regulations regarding these products. They don't need to be as extensive as a full blown drug approval process but they need to more extensive than they are. As for Quigley, you forget that I was aware of the Quigley studies and zinc long before Quigley even went public and so was most of the pharmaceutical industry. The Quigley studies are regarded to be poor, at best, by everyone I know in pharmaceuticals. Had it been otherwise, the pharmaceutical industry would have pounced on the zinc angle years ago before GUMM even thought of making Zicam and they had that opportunity. Since they obviously did not do that, they must feel the same way about zinc treatments for colds as I do. Don't you find that rather disturbing? Even if Zicam proves to be a big winner, I think GUMM will be in for some intense competition. It's curious that QGLY decided to sue GUMM when there are numerous Cold-Eez knock offs available. You'd think they'd go after them. When I went to buy my bottle of Zicam, I noticed that there were not only a number of other zinc lozenges for sale besides Cold-Eez but there was stuff like zinc throat spray too. Don't you think it's only a matter of time before there's a number of Zicam like nasal spray's out there competing with Zicam but selling for a lot less? That ought to cut into their profit margin quite a bit I should think. Even worse, if the knock offs are less effective then Zicam, people will assume that if the knock off didn't work then neither will Zicam. Guilt by association and a whole slew of potential customers lost. As for all the other big contracts GUMM is supposedly working on (ie the nicotine and dental contracts), they are just promises right now and I don't invest my money in companies that market promises. Outside of Zicam, they have very little going for them. If and when these contracts come to fruition, I reserve the right to re-examin my opinion of GUMM as a company. Even then, I'd prefer to see several back to back profitable quarters before sinking any serious money into them.