New Hep C Vaccine Approach Pursued by Okairos
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Former Merck Unit Works on First Vaccine for Hepatitis C
By Makiko Kitamura on March 14, 2012
Okairos AG, a biotechnology business that Merck & Co. (MRK) sold to venture capital funds in 2007, is seeking to produce the first preventive vaccine for hepatitis C, challenging makers of treatments for the disease.
Okairos has begun a mid-stage study, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, of a gene-based vaccine designed to stimulate the body’s immune system to prevent hepatitis C from taking hold, Chief Operating Officer Tom Woiwode said in a phone interview from the company’s Basel, Switzerland, headquarters.
No vaccine exists for hepatitis C, which affects as many as 170 million people globally, putting them at risk of developing liver cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The growing population of patients infected with the virus spurred Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD)’s decision in November to buy experimental hepatitis C-treatment maker Pharmasset Inc. for $10.8 billion and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY)’s acquisition in February of Inhibitex Inc. for $2.5 billion.
“This could change the landscape quite a bit,” said Les Funtleyder, a health-care strategist and portfolio manager at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York. “In theory, if you could vaccinate everyone, you’d need a lot less drug.” Funtleyder said he isn’t aware of any other preventive vaccines in development.
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2 Comments
Sir there’s a new medicine for hepatitis c? Beside the interferon pegasys? I have hepatitis c for 7 years now im 27 year old, residing in the Philippines i acquired it in my every week hemo dialysis or maybe in blood transfusion but i transfused blood only once that was when i diagnosed that my kidneys failed to function that’s 2 bags of blood.After that i used epokine or efrex for my rbc support. I also disqualified in my kidneys transplant because of that, I tried to used pegasys, for my first month of injection the result was zero viral load in my blood then we stop that injection for 1 month but the virus back again then we continue it for 3 months but the result is not good i have 800 000 viral load and some side effects come like my eyes became blurt and red. Cause of that the doctor decided to stop the treatment and also we cant already support the to buy it because my father only support me we used his retirement money to buy pegasys for 4 months and now we have nothing, we sell already my brother house, his car to support my needs especially in my dialysis and maintenance medicine =(….. .After a almost a year there a new medicine come called uniferon it is cheaper than pegasys in my first month the result was 0 viral load but again in the next month it back again and i continued using for 2 years but nothing happened the virus still here.We stopped treatment cause its no reaction in my body.
And hoping for new medicine come to cure my Hepatitis C and i willing to testing it in to me don’t care what side effects come, in condition that it will given to me for free^^and to continue my kidney transplant and leave in normal life hope not too late for me…..=)
i got hep c from renters that rented our trailer and left blody needles in the sink i ,was pulling out the garbage they left and got stuck a couple of times,i looked and found the bloody syringes,i confronted them,and they were hepc positive,i had myself checked,i now amd hep c positive,on top of that i have heart problems and a tumor on my kidneys/and on soc security,doctor says the cure would kill me,what can i do,life insurance wont cover me,tried to get burial insurance,not happening,is there anything new out there,that complications from it wont endanger my life,thumper_0007@hotmail.com