WHAT AN INCREDIBLE COINCIDENCE!!!

[Hua Kul]

August 4, 2009--ViroPharma Loses Vancocin Try; FDA Panel Vote Favors Generics

August 6, 2009--ViroPharma Announces Initiation Of Non-Toxigenic Clostridium Difficile Phase 1 Program

So the drug company that makes vancomycin and sells it at a huge profit margin announces the beginning of testing of a new non-drug therapy for cdiff: supplying the cdiff bacteria in a form that doesn't produce toxins (thus no symptoms). And just two days after finding out the FDA would allow other drug companies to perform simplified testing on a generic vancocin. What an amazing coincidence! Just think, if this substitute bacteria works and will crowd out the malignant form and they had discovered it years ago they may have been able to stop the suffering for hundreds of thousands of people. Of course, they wouldn't have made as many billions of dollars profit on the Vancocin. What a shame that ViroPharma didn't discover it sooner.

http://www.bioworld.com/servlet/com.acc ... ceid=51691

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/market ... le-phase-/


--Hua Kul

[jenkelly15]

That is a coincidence. Well I guess the man we met on vacation was telling me the truth about them coming out with a generic vacomycin. That is great for people who aren't insured and can't afford it. I wonder how that trial is going to go with non-toxin c-diff. I wish it would go well and help all of us who have suffered from c-diff to not be as frightened to have to take AB's again. Thanks for that information very interesting to read.

[beth22]

I sure hope they come out with something soon. It turns out that it was the vanco that made me as sick as I am . It destroyed my intestines and apparently is what is responsible for the dysbiosis/SIBO - killed too much good bacteria. I took very high doses for too long. Hope this Pepto Bismol regimen keeps helping. My other choice is Xifaxan, which is milder, but still will kill a lot of good bacteria, if I even have any left.

I guess if it were profitable to make this they would have done it. Meanwhile people have to suffer.

[trob25]

This kind of news makes me sick, I can't take it when I read things like this, it burns a whole in my heart or something, to painful. These stupid drug companies have scientists that develop cures to things all the time I'm sure, but it gets stuffed on the backburner because they have another, less effective treatment that costs more and rakes in more profits. When the profitable one goes down, poof, magically within 2 days they made a breakthrough new treatment discovery! (yeah right, they could have discovered this new stuff 5-10 years ago for all we know).

Makes you wonder if some scientist out there hasn't developed a short cure for a type of cancer or two, but it's being held back because 6 months of chemo means big $$$$ for the company instead of a 1 month of a curing treatment.

Some things have been made into politics and they shouldn't be. Health care is one of them, this kind of behavior is unacceptable and immoral and needs to be stopped, but looking at the way things are going with "reform" there will be few regulations, no oversight, nothing really (especially nothing on drug companies, hasn't even come up in these debates), just the same private companies doing the same thing they've been doing for the last 50 years, screwing us

[klt03301]

Well said, Travis!!!!

[cindym]

Well If I could find out for sure this drug was known about for a long time prior to generics trying to get approved this ole woman would and will be the first in line at a lawyers office. Can you imagine what I have spent on vancomycin in the last 8 years??????????????? Lets see------$2900 a month at one time etc etc etc..........geez, I would be rich! I do know that they have played around with pricing to the point it is not funny. I also know that the shortage was ridiculous!

[Hua Kul]

I can't find the actual raw ingredient price of vancomycin, but I found some other drug prices that should give a good indication of how we're being financially raked over the coals.

Drug---Retail price per 100--- Raw ingredient cost per 100---%Markup

Claritin 10mg---- $215.17---- $0.71---- 30,306%
Prilosec 20mg---- $360.97---- $0.52---- 69,417%
Prozac 20mg---- $247.47---- $0.11---- 224,973%
Xanax 1mg---- $136.79---- $0.024--- 569,958%

http://search.lef.org/cgi-src-bin/MsmGo ... s%20raw%20

--Hua Kul

[Hua Kul]

(Note about my previous post: That article was from 2002 and some of the drugs mentioned may have come off patent since then, now with lower retail prices.)

[Bobbie]

Pharm. companies have some of the strongiest lobbiests in Congress. For many years, they "rewarded" docs. for prescribing certain meds. although I believe most of this has stopped. They do spend a lot of $$$ on R&D so I have no idea what their profit is. Some do help patients defray costs. (See FAQ.)