New Hope for AIDS vaccine

[Jeslek]

When it comes to a cure for Aids, I'll believe it when they have a working vaccine that's ready to be distributed. But a "US biotechnology company" called Vaxgen has produced a vaccine that IAVI president Dr Seth Berkley hopes will one day, "put an end to this terrible disease."

Now certainly this vaccine would be a tremendous boon to mankind. It would save tens of millions of lives across the world especially in Africa where AIDS is cutting a swath of destruction unseen since the heyday of the Bubonic Plague.

However, there is a big downside to this vaccine from a left-wing perspective. The wrong people have come up with it. It wasn't some group of Communist researchers in China or even a group of European scientists who created this vaccine on a government grant. This vaccine is being developed by a corporation which is probably run by some fatcat CEO who liberals would undoubtedly think is being paid too much. Furthermore, they didn't work on this vaccine for purely altruistic reasons, they developed it so they could make huge Mt. Everest sized piles of cash selling the drug. The animal rights whackos will probably be outraged when they learn that Vaxgen tested this drug on chimpanzees! PETA certainly won't approve of that. Worst of all in many people's eyes will be the fact that the vaccine was developed by the nation they view as the source of all evil in the world, the United States. Sometimes the left must think fate is quite a cruel mistress.

SOURCE: http://www.rightwingnews.com

 

[ris]

the vaccine is unapplicable to africa as the strains of the virus are different there. the current vaccine [if it clears trials etc] is for the north and sounth american, european strains.

as a dribbly lefty-commie i'm delighted that a vaccine is at such as stage, and i think that most of us will feel that way. even in mad socialist countries like those in europe drug development is almost entirely corporate and not government.

the big question in my mind is will a vaccine for african strains be worked on and if it is will the treatments be made economically viable in countries that desperately need it? i hope it is, strains will make their way across the world otherwise.

 

[HomeLAN]

Thanks, ris. I suspected you were full of shit on that one, so I went and researched. I never realized that 90% of African victims are, in fact, infected with a more virulent strain then that found here.

Learned something new today.

 

[Ardsgaine]

Originally posted by ris
will the treatments be made economically viable in countries that desperately need it?

How do you do that Ris? How do you make something "economically viable" if that means selling it at a loss? What's the magic formula for that?

Given the political climate, a drug company would have to be insane to work on a vaccine for the African strain of the virus. They would end up having to give away the patent or manufacture the drug for free.

 

[Janimal]

Originally posted by Ardsgaine

Originally posted by ris
will the treatments be made economically viable in countries that desperately need it?

How do you do that Ris? How do you make something "economically viable" if that means selling it at a loss? What's the magic formula for that?

Given the political climate, a drug company would have to be insane to work on a vaccine for the African strain of the virus. They would end up having to give away the patent or manufacture the drug for free.

Hmmm... that does leave us in the West with a quandry. On the one hand - it's not currently econmically viable for the drug companies to develop a vaccine for African strains. On the other hand, without said vaccine, it is probable that more virulent strains would make their way here - as the West Nile Virus has done. We may find it more cost effective to stop the virus sooner, rather than later. (yes, I know, there is still the question of how - this is more of an observation, than a solution proposal).

Considering the amount of time it takes to do the research and get the approvals, I would think Western companies would go ahead, take the gamble and do the development. At the very least, by the time those strains got here, they might be ready for them.

 

[Luis G]

I bet many countries are going to violate the patent.

Brazil did that a year ago in order to provide free (or low cost) medication to their people.

 

[ris]

deals are usually done by aid agencies and governments to reduce the borne cost to the poorer nations that buy it. it may be aid groups doing the buying anyway.

most of the drug countries are also highly conscious of the improved marketing position they have in terms of advertising and publicity if they are seen to be 'humanitarian' in some way.

they will develop it, it's a potential market after all.