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Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: Peter Staley on July 10, 2008, 02:37:49 pm

Title: Roche Abandons HIV Research
Post by: Peter Staley on July 10, 2008, 02:37:49 pm

Sounds bad, but I'm not too worried about it.

Read why in my blog post about it here:
http://blogs.poz.com/peter/archives/2008/07/roche_abandons.html

If you comment in this thread, I encourage you to cut & paste the same at the bottom of the blog page.

Thanks!

Title: Re: Roche Abandons HIV Research
Post by: John2038 on July 10, 2008, 03:30:57 pm

After this  (http://www.thebody.com/content/art47196.html?mtrk=9045233)article I have read recently, come this news.

In the same time, as a "newly" infected person, I haven't follow-up in the last past years how well is going the research.
I just know from what I have read since few months that there are a lot of interesting research, trials, etc..
(OPAL, VRX496, TAT, 273 proteins inventory, GeoVax, HIV shortcut to reproduce, etc.)

I am wondering if compared to prior, if this amount of new good news are higher, same or lower than what ever before 2007.

Thanks for sharing,
John

Title: Re: Roche Abandons HIV Research
Post by: Peter Staley on July 10, 2008, 07:49:30 pm

John -- as far as the pipeline is concerned, I'd agree with Paul Dalton's analysis (see the link (http://www.thebody.com/content/art47196.html?mtrk=9045233) he provided.. it's well worth reading) -- compared to recent history, it's pretty skimpy.  We had a burst of new drugs hit the market over the last two years, so when they were in the pipeline, it was more flush than I had seen it previously.

That said, I remember that in years past, the pipeline could look skimpy at times, and then it would start to fill up again.  It has ebbs and flows, like everything.

I do think you give far too much weight to pinning your hopes on compounds in early development.  You'll find that old farts like me, and most other AIDS treatment activists, have learned the hard way how to keep those promising press releases and phase I trials in perspective.  The vast majority never pan out.

The worst thing you can do is to start championing an early compound, drumming up a false sense of hope before the cake has actually been baked (in a controlled clinical trial).  I'm not saying ignore them -- that would be equally lazy.  But look at them with a healthy dose of scientific skepticism.  Follow them, ask questions about them, report on them, but don't start a fan club for them before they've proven themselves.

Title: Re: Roche Abandons HIV Research
Post by: Miss Philicia on July 10, 2008, 07:56:59 pm

Amen, sista.

ps:  I can't personally hate on Roche, because Fuzeon was the first thing to suppress my viral load (though they fucked me up the ass with Hivid and that first formulation of Invirase which I'm convinced made me resistant very early to the entire class of PIs).

Title: Re: Roche Abandons HIV Research
Post by: John2038 on July 11, 2008, 02:36:09 am

Hi Peter,

I can only listen but you know me a bit now uh ?

I know that what you are saying is true. 
On the other side, in sciences, discoveries (theoretical or not) are exponentials.
So should be the good news.