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Canada Will Ship 800 Doses of Experimental Ebola Drug to WHO
The WSJ reports that 800 doses of an experimental vaccine for Ebola, developed over a decade at Public Health Agency of Canada’s main laboratory in Winnipeg, will be shipped to the World Health Organization in an effort to help fight the ongoing Ebola crisis in West Africa: The vaccine will be shipped by air from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to the University Hospital of Geneva via specialized courier. The vials will be sent in three separate shipments as a precautionary measure, due to the challenges in moving a vaccine that must kept at a very low temperature at all times. ... The vaccine had shown “very promising results in animal research” and earlier this week, Ottawa announced the start of clinical trials on humans at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in the U.S. ... The government has licensed NewLink Genetics Corp. , of the U.S., through its wholly owned subsidiary BioProtection Systems Corp. to further develop the vaccine for use in humans. The government owns the intellectual property rights associated with the vaccine.
Who?
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Don't call him Who, just call him "the Doctor".
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
Maybe my tax dollars might save some lives.
And maybe we'll see the words 'government' and 'intellectual' in the same sentence more often.
Here's hoping.
...to WHOM
Third Base
It's called favipiravir, and originates in Japan. It was tested on a few Spanish patients and it seems to have worked. The key difference between favipiravir and the ZMapp mAb is that favipiravir is effective even when given in the later stages of infection.
You're missing the point of that statement.
The Government of Canada is giving it to WHO, you should be aware that it wasn't a private organization, but Canada and it's tax payers who are contributing to this. This is a good sign, as it means the citizens of Canada have control over it through their government, which means it won't be used to extort riches. Hence it going to WHO.
That's not what you said last night XD
I thought for a while this was a joke.....
In this world somebody will own it. It is better if a good government does (and everybody to use it) than some asshat with a team of scalp hunters dressed as lawyers would. Just shows what big pharma actually does for the money they get. Not much it seems.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that MSNBC screams that black people are being used as guinea pigs
Won't get fooled again.
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
Pardon my ignorance, but where is the greater good served by intellectual rights, in the face of a potentially dangerous epidemic. As an above poster pointed out, not even the US Gov't can own intellectual rights (that I know of anyway). Say this vaccine works, and works really well. Does that now make us all liable to pay the Canadian Gov't for more doses, or to license the formula for manufacture? At what cost. Interesting. I want to learn more facts behind this.
This makes more sense. I hadn't thought of it that way -- being an American, and used to big pharma's exploits, I keep forgetting (and need to be reminded) that Canada is a bit more progressive with the bigger picture.
I also can appreciate where an entity, including the Canadian Gov't, would want to recoup reasonable research costs. If all countries thought that way....
Bullshit. This is "stuff that matters."
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
I forget which treaty is it, but there are exceptions in which a government can claim a state of emergency and manufacture any drug or violate any patent to address that emergency without violating any international law or foreign law.
It was all over the news back when the Anthrax scares were happening. Canada cited the provisions when it appeared there would be a shortage of Cipro and decided one of their companies would manufacture it for Canadian stockpiles. I think they later reversed on that when Bayer said they could produce the amounts needed.
I would be inclined to think this is one of those times. But these drugs are not tested and have little to no working background that could be used to get generics up and running like you could with other drugs.
Just shows what big pharma actually does for the money they get. Not much it seems.
Why would Big Pharma waste time trying to cure Ebola? It's a disease that affects a relatively tiny number of people in (mostly, until the past month) Third World nations. It is only notable due to the terrifyingly (and unusual) high mortality rate, but there is absolutely no financial incentive to go after it right now.
It's better this way, meds will be cheaper as the collective tax payer is paying for it, or rather the government has the ability to give the medication to people at a much cheaper cost to the government than if it had to be purchased from a private organization. Intentions can be better.
And when you're sick of people dying. Call me. Remember this.
Need Mercedes parts ?
Current list of Ebola drugs, tacky headline on their stock market status
tempus fugit