Ebola in Texas

[REWahoo]

Wonder how much Merck will charge for it...

 

[audreyh1]

Wow - that really is great news. I haven't heard much since last summer. I know that several countries were able to eliminate all cases, but I hadn't heard what happened to the main two or three countries that were still struggling with it.

 

[Brat]

This is a good lesson about orphan diseases. Under the right circumstances they can cause an epidemic. Hopefully this research will translate into prevention of Marburg hemorrhagic virus.

From time to time I find an interesting podcast, recently I found TWiV, This Week in Virology. Interesting discussions from leaders in the field about the profession. I had no idea that the US has more virologist PhDs and Postdocs than can find work. The discussion about how to discourage more from that field bummed me.... all that talent being pulled along by the economics of universities and the need for lab assistants with no where to land at the end.

 

[clifp]

I'm delighted that the vaccine is effective. I just wish the Canadian federal government didn't give it away for $200,000.

Wonder how much Merck will charge for it...

A lot more than 200K I am sure. Still I don't think this a multi billion dollar drug, it isn't like it cure something important like erectile dysfunction.

 

[razztazz]

A lot more than 200K I am sure. Still I don't think this a multi billion dollar drug, it isn't like it cure something important like erectile dysfunction

You can die from ebola. ED you have to live with.

 

[MooreBonds]

You can die from ebola. ED you have to live with.

How long had it been since the previous ebola outbreak? Maybe 20 years?

And even in this latest outbreak, how many people died? 15,000? And perhaps 98%+ of them lived in third world countries where average GDP/person might be measured in the hundreds of dollars?

So even if 30,000 people bought this drug this time around, it could easily be 10-20 years before the next outbreak. So it would average maybe 3,000 doses/year?

True, it is life-saving...but the people that need it most don't have the means to spend for it. And even if they charged $1,000 for it (which I doubt even that could be coughed up by these poor countries), that's $3 Million in revenue/year for a multi billion dollar/year firm.

They'd get more benefit from the positive PR/free marketing than anything else.

 

[clifp]

You can die from ebola. ED you have to live with.

I was being sarcastic.

 

[razztazz]

I was being sarcastic.

So was I

 

[growing_older]

Until some other contagious case somehow makes their way through the customs protocols and presents in a first-world country. Then you'll see plenty of well heeled demand for inoculation at profitable prices.

 

[Senator]

Until some other contagious case somehow makes their way through the customs protocols and presents in a first-world country. Then you'll see plenty of well heeled demand for inoculation at profitable prices.

That may very well be the 'master plan'. Once the vaccine is tested thoroughly and a profit model is established.

But no pharmaceutical company would ever do that.