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Biotech / Medical : Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MLNM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ian@SI who wrote (2411)	7/4/2005 1:12:52 PM
From: microcapfun	Respond to of 3044

Velcade seems to have much untapped potential. My feeling is that Velcade will have little use outside of cancer. The reasoning goes as follows. A multifactorial or 'dirty' offensive is needed in cancer; in most cases simply blocking one target is insufficient. Furthermore in cancer you are willing to put up with a large amount of collateral damage. In most other non-communicable diseases there is a single pathway at fault and the mutation rate is low. After you fully understand the biology, what you want is a single targeted agent. Also in many cases, e.g. arthritis, you want a drug which can be used continuously for long periods of time if not indefinitely. Significant collateral damage will not be accepted. So I'll be surprised if Velcade or another proteasome inhibitor turns out to be more than a marginal drug outside of cancer. Just a speculation. micro