Someone profits from outbreak

[asimplegirl]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKN2445216420090424


LOS ANGELES, April 24 (Reuters) - The swine flu outbreak is likely to benefit one of the most prolific and successful venture capital firms in the United States: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Thomson Reuters Private Equity Week reported on Friday.

Shares of the two public companies in the firm's portfolio of eight Pandemic and Bio Defense companies -- BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX.O) and Novavax (NVAX.O) -- jumped Friday on news that the swine flu killed a reported 60 people in Mexico and has infected people in the United States.

The World Health Organization said the virus appears to be susceptible to Roche's (ROG.VX) flu drug Tamiflu, also known as oseltamivir, but not to older flu drugs such as amantadine.

Shares of Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG closed up 3.48 percent after falling sharply earlier in the week on a cancer drug disappointment, while shares of U.S. biotechnology company Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O), which gets royalties from Roche on Tamiflu sales, slipped 10 cents to $45.80 on Friday.

But BioCryst, a maker of drugs that block key enzymes in viral diseases, jumped more than 26 percent on Friday to $2.21 per share. Viral vaccine maker Novavax rose more than 75 percent to $1.42 per share.

BioCryst CEO John Stonehouse said his company does not anticipate the use of its technology in treating this episode of swine flu.

"We're in clinical trials right now and not on the market," Stonehouse said.

Still, the companies will have to go even higher for Kleiner Perkins to make its investment back. Both BioCryst and Novavax experienced long drops from price peaks in 2006, when reports of avian flu dominated headlines.

BioCryst is down nearly 90 percent from its 2006 high of $20.75 per share and Novavax is down more than 85 percent from a high of $7.98 per share.

Kleiner Perkins invested $30 million in BioCryst in December 2005 alongside Fort Worth, Texas-based buyout firm TPG. The two firms invested again in August 2007, picking up $65 million worth of shares and warrants. The investors bought shares in BioCryst at $13.46 and then $7.80.

Kleiner Perkins put $20 million in Novavax in February 2006 alongside Palo Alto, Calif.-based Prospect Venture Partners. The two firms picked up the shares at $4.35.

Novavax can produce a vaccine from an emergent strain of flu virus in 12 weeks, according to CEO Rahul Singhvi. The company has contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to offer help and is trying to contact the Ministry of Health in Mexico, Singhvi said.

The company uses genetic information and "recombinant, virus-like particle technology" to rapidly engineer a vaccine. Its technology has been proven to work in humans during Phase II trials, Singhvi said, and it might be used in the case of an emergency.

"There is an emergency authorization avenue that is available that would allow us to use the vaccine in an emergency without further testing," said Singhvi.

Kleiner Perkins typically only invests in early stage start-up technologies. It is best known for its investments in Netscape, Amazon.com (AMZN.O), Google (GOOG.O) and Genentech (ROG.VX).

The Menlo Park, California-based VC firm launched a $200 million Pandemic Bio Defense fund in 2006 to invest in technology companies working on drugs, diagnostics and inoculations against flu-like diseases.

"We will invest to accelerate innovation, and we're in a hurry," Investor John Doerr said at the time. "We hope even a mild pandemic never recurs."

Investors at Kleiner Perkins were not immediately available for comment.

The firm's other Pandemic Bio Defense investments include: * San Francisco-based Anza Therapeutics, which is working on therapeutic vaccines for treating certain types of cancer and hepatitis C. * Fremont, Calif.-based Breathe Technologies, which is working on lightweight respiratory ventilator systems. * Emeryville, Calif.-based HX Diagnostics, which is working to make diagnostic tools for seasonal and emerging diseases. * Pleasanton, Calif.-based Juvaris BioTherapeutics Inc., which is working on vaccines and immunotherapeutics to treat infectious disease and cancer. * San Diego-based Trius Therapeutics, which is developing drugs to fight resistant-strains of bacteria. * Marlborough, Mass.-based Xcellerex Inc., which has developed tools and manufacturing processes to speed the deployment of new vaccines.

[Sandra]

Not to mention the sudden existance of a virus with swine, bird and human DNA properties. So the makers of Tamiflu created a need for their product. This virus was made by the pharmceutical company.

[asimplegirl]

The CDC released this morning that there is a vaccine they have made for this...and that the makers of vaccines should buy their "seed stock".

I can use the quote button for some reason:
In preparation for such a scenario, the CDC has created a seed stock of a vaccine against the swine flu, which could be pushed into production should the number of cases jump significantly. The CDC did not specify what the threshold for vaccine production would be.

[Liberty Star]

Even thinking about this possibility makes one sick. Drug industry has no shortage of money hungary exploiting crooks but this would be very very low if these speculations have feet.

[tangent4ronpaul]

The CDC released this morning that there is a vaccine they have made for this...and that the makers of vaccines should buy their "seed stock".

I can use the quote button for some reason:
In preparation for such a scenario, the CDC has created a seed stock of a vaccine against the swine flu, which could be pushed into production should the number of cases jump significantly. The CDC did not specify what the threshold for vaccine production would be.

The CDC just "happened" to have a vaccine in their back pocket... hmmm...

http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/Processing-QC/Disposables-could-cut-vaccine-development-time

"Viral vaccine development is a notoriously long and costly process governed by stringent regulatory controls. As the demand for vaccines increases globally, biopharmaceutical companies need to safely and reliably speed up development and production cycles that typically last 8 to 12 years and cost between $300 and $800 million, she told the meeting. "

-t

[asimplegirl]

Oh, the CDC released info in the UK that they have "seed stock", and that a vaccine producing company has to buy that stock, and then it should take about 6 months to make a vaccine...

LOL

[tangent4ronpaul]

Actually, it does make sense that they had it in their back pocket... From a 2005 paper:

http://rwor.org/a/023/avian-flu-pandemic-world.htm

"Although different types of the influenza A virus can infect mammals, wild birds are the natural hosts. The current type, designated H5N1 according to the specific combination of two different proteins on the surface of the influenza virus, is causing particularly high rates of mortality, not only among bird populations but among humans and other mammals as well.

Currently, humans seem only to contract it through contact with bird secretions or poultry products. However, as an RNA virus with a gene consisting of 8 segments, an influenza type found in one population can exchange or "reallocate" one or another of its 8 segments with an existing flu virus in a new host population, allowing it to spread into the new population using the genetic material of flu strains endemic to that population. (There is one report of a case of what seems to be human-to-human transfer in Vietnam in September 2004; and the possibility of similar transfer to two people in Hong Kong in 1999.)

That the H5N1 influenza is reported to have already spread to both pigs and felines indicates that it is prone to the reallocation needed to spread to the human population. And because it has never infected humans before, the human immune system is unable to recognize and attack it, making it extremely lethal to the people who contract it.

How many people it will actually kill depends in part on its rate of mortality and in part on how easily it will spread between humans once this reallocation comes about.

The high rates of mortality experienced by people contracting the virus from birds has health experts extremely worried. Its initial mortality rate was 50 percent, but in recent months it seems to have been becoming more lethal with a rate of 70 percent. In comparison, the 1917-1918 influenza pandemic, a bird flu which killed 40 million people worldwide, had a mortality rate of just 5 percent.

Acquisition of the ability to spread between people will depend on the H5N1 virus finding human hosts simultaneously infected with strains of human influenza with which they can exchange genetic material. Health experts say from previous experience this is likely to occur within the next three months. How quickly it subsequently spreads within human populations will depend upon the character of the specific kinds of reallocation that take place."


It gets better... :rolleyes:

"As documented by the anthropologist John Bodley, furthermore, the extreme centralization of state and corporate bureaucracies and of the regimes of distribution and control, and the general environmental degradation of the entire biosphere makes today's global society more vulnerable than ever to systemic collapse, as most communities are no longer able to exist autonomously."

"The world has changed greatly from the time of the 1917-1918 pandemic. Not only like World War I are there the above-mentioned conditions that make the world's population vulnerable to a new pandemic of the same order of magnitude as the 1917-1918 pandemic, there are also new factors in play. The industrialization of agriculture has removed the major portion of the world's population into densely packed urban areas. It also has concentrated large numbers of chickens into giant chicken factories in Southeast Asia on the U.S. factory-farming model which as mentioned above have provided perfect breeding grounds for new forms of avian flu. There is much greater mobility of the population which allows the virus to radiate out into the different populations of the world much quicker. Like the destruction of wetlands that once protected New Orleans, the natural environment worldwide had been greatly impoverished, removing a source of natural elasticity."

"What Can We Do?

Finally, it might be smart for localities to act quickly to protect themselves and the less advantaged among them. In 1917-18 government in the United States, at least, failed people at all levels. Effective attacks on the virus were only mounted when citizens shoved aside government took things into their own hands. Overstretched state, county and city health budgets cannot handle the additional burden that protection would entail, and probably there is not enough time to go through the political process of allocating money, even though ideally we should be trying to make our government at various levels responsive to us.

Local wards or neighborhoods might to set up teams that would train themselves for dealing with all the possible fallout that can come from such an emergency. After all, health care providers being on the front line are expected to suffer disproportionate casualties. In many countries, such as Japan or Cuba, wards are organized with well-supplied teams of people who make sure everyone is cared for in tsunamis, typhoons and other disasters. Considering the failure of our governments at all levels to take care of us in the most recent disasters, and given the corporate carpet baggers who subsequently descended on the communities in their aftermath, it might do us well to prepare our communities to pool resources, talent and training to take care of our own members, the least among them, and make sure nobody is abandoned this time. "

The whole article is worth a read - I just copied over highlights.

-t

[rpfan2008]

This is being discussed in AJ show, listen live
http://www.infowars.com/audiobox.html

[Reason]

Is there a vaccine for swine flu?

Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu. The seasonal influenza vaccine will likely help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses.

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/key_facts.htm

[tangent4ronpaul]

Is there a vaccine for swine flu?

Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu. The seasonal influenza vaccine will likely help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses.

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/key_facts.htm

See post #3. She didn't provide a link, though. It certainly implies it's for humans.

-t

[tangent4ronpaul]

From the CDC press briefing transcript from yesterday, April 24th:

http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2009/t090424.htm

"And as a precautionary step, the CDC is working to develop vaccine seed strains specific to these recent swine influenza viruses in humans. This is also something we often initiate when we encounter a new influenza virus that has the potential to cause significant human illness. "

-t

[Reason]

From the CDC press briefing transcript from yesterday, April 24th:

http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2009/t090424.htm

"And as a precautionary step, the CDC is working to develop vaccine seed strains specific to these recent swine influenza viruses in humans. This is also something we often initiate when we encounter a new influenza virus that has the potential to cause significant human illness. "

-t

AKA they don't have a vaccine and wont for a long time

[tangent4ronpaul]

AKA they don't have a vaccine and wont for a long time

It's not clear. Yesterdays press briefing said they were working on it.

This article in TIME from today looks like where the other poster found the statement that they had one:

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893942,00.html

"In preparation for such a scenario, the CDC has created a seed stock of a vaccine against the swine flu, which could be pushed into production should the number of cases jump significantly. The CDC did not specify what the threshold for vaccine production would be."

OK- that says they have created a seed stock. The title says:

"CDC Readies Vaccine in Case of Swine Flu Pandemic"

Does that mean in development, or readies for mass production - like they have it and are growing seed batches like crazy?

Don't know...

-t

[asimplegirl]

They released that they had "seed stock" for the vaccine already created, but that they are waiting for demand from vaccine producers to provide it, and pay up for it. They also claim that it will take six months to create the vaccine since the stock is already made.

Also, from my friend Fabian in Wales:


cases of the Avian strain causing death in egypt now, this will go global. I have been out getting my emergency supplies, the british so far blatantly unaware, despite the South Wales Military mobilising support contingency thi morning, politicians in Geneva and the police force mobilising members. In little old south wales, UK. This beggars belief. I got my emergency stuff before the panic sets in here.

[Liberty Star]

Makers of masks may not be able to keep up with demand.

[raiha]

https://www.kitcomm.com/showthread.php?t=41176

Don Rumsfeld.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Makers of masks may not be able to keep up with demand.

Have seen reports that they are sold out in many areas....

YEAH just in time shipping - and no warehousing in the name of profit! - NOT!

-t