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  • 25 November 2015 at 2:02 am in reply to: More nausea-inducing news about Gilead’s strategy #4606
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Yes, right! I am sure Dr James is still pushing forward. The rest of us can help by collecting little bits of ammunition in the background.

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    25 November 2015 at 12:31 am in reply to: More nausea-inducing news about Gilead’s strategy #4601
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Hi dointime,

    Sure, I agree, its not just Gilead. It has been going on for years. Take tamiflu for example (oops, there’s another famous Gilead production). Tamiflu (generic name olsetamivir) has made Merck about $18 billion since 1999, of which about $2 billion went to Gilead in royalties. It was stock-piled by the US and many european governments, and each year doctors still prescribe it and many families buy it each winter.

    http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g2524

    But a thorough review by the Chochrane Group concludes that it saves only about half a day’s worth of symptoms, and then only if it is taken in time:

    http://community.cochrane.org/features/tamiflu-and-relenza-getting-full-evidence-picture
    http://community.cochrane.org/features/tamiflu-relenza-how-effective-are-they

    So I totally agree, there is something terribly wrong when Big Pharma can get away with this kind of thing…

    Even worse, today with Hepatitis C, everything has gone up a gear….

    I am sorry if you think “we don’t get it” (I suppose you mean me and Mike and Miko3 and GAJ). I think we all get it. The question is what to do about it?

    Me, I don’t claim to have a solution. But we have to start somewhere and we all have to do our bit. And every bit counts.

    Even if we don’t agree on what to do about it, I still want to thank you for really opening this thing up.

    Lets never give up on this!

    Vororo.

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    24 November 2015 at 7:40 pm in reply to: More nausea-inducing news about Gilead’s strategy #4590
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Yeah, we gotta keep socking the B*rds with the facts.

    All The Best for your own Week-Four Facts!

    Vororo.

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    24 November 2015 at 7:05 pm in reply to: More nausea-inducing news about Gilead’s strategy #4588
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Thanks Mike,

    … But a PhD thesis takes 3 years to write, and then no-one reads it ;)

    I was thinking more along the lines that for each of us who wants to do something, we could try to pick off and answer one of those questions ourselves. Or just track relevant business and health sources in a systematic way and post quick summaries and links here. Lots of people are already doing this. But they end up getting scattered across the forum.

    For my part, one of the things that is really bugging me at the moment is who is behind all these so-called Hep-C “support” forums, and how they are funded. I have a hunch that > 90% are funded by Big Pharma but I want to shift that from a hunch to hard facts.

    Another burning question, probably more important but harder to answer just by searching on-line, is just what are the numbers? How many people get turned away each year because of the extortionate price of the treatment?

    Best,

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    24 November 2015 at 5:50 pm in reply to: More nausea-inducing news about Gilead’s strategy #4586
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Well, I guess it’s now my turn to weigh-in,

    Dear dt, miko3, gaj, mgalbrai (sorry if I am missing anyone),

    I totally agree with your sentiments. But while the scale of what is happening with hepatitis C is global, I think it is a mistake to make a comparison with the financial crisis of 2009 or even WW2 war crimes.

    The main problem with hepatitis C today is the price of treatment set by Gilead, coupled with the fact that they have managed to secure a near-global monopoly through crafty licensing deals and market segmentation. They were not “following orders”, they were not “forced to do it by the market”. It was their own ethical and business decision.

    However Gilead might have arrived at this position, we all think the consequences are evil. We are not prepared to be patients who will wait patiently in line… We are out-raged and we have no patience!

    But if we are to be taken seriously by our governments and their decision-makers we have to turn that anger into hard facts from reliable and citable sources:

    * How much, exactly, is the mark-up on cost of production to sales price?
    * How much money, exactly, do the Gilead board members make each year?
    * What is the rate of return, exactly, on each Gilead share per year?
    * How much of Gilead’s turn-over, exactly, goes into R&D?
    * How much of Gilead’s turn-over, exactly, goes into legal costs?
    * How much of Gilead’s turn-over, exactly, goes into marketising and advertising?
    * How much of Gilead’s turn-over, exactly, goes into government lobbying?
    * How much of Gilead’s turn-over, exactly, goes to taxation?

    * How many people die each year because their government could not afford to treat them?
    * How many more people could be treated if the cost was halved?
    * What would academic experts consider to be a fair price for treatment?

    * How many on-line Hepatitis C support groups are funded by Gilead?
    * How many on-line Hepatitis C support groups funded by Gilead censor posts about generics?

    * How many people with F3/F4 are treated each year by government-funded health programs?
    * How many people with F0-F2 are not treated by government-funded health programs?
    * How many people are being “ware-housed” until the price falls?

    * How many people are actually treated through one of Gilead’s aid programs?

    …
    … No doubt many more questions like this can and should be asked.
    …

    Obviously, a lot of people came to fixHepC firstly to get a treatment. But it now seems equally clear that many of those same people are staying on fixHepC to try to help others.

    I don’t want to attack or blame anyone. But I personally believe that trying to get answers to the above questions is a legitimate way to really help others get the treatment that they deserve.

    Today everyone expects that fair treatment in law is a basic human right. We have to get to the point where everyone expects that medical treatment for a fair price is also a basic human right.

    Yours,

    Vororo.

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    22 November 2015 at 2:35 am in reply to: More nausea-inducing news about Gilead’s strategy #4395
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Hi Ann Bee,

    Yes, Yes, I could not agree more… I just read “The Truth About The Drug Companies (And How They Deceive Us And What To Do About It)” By Marcia Angell (2004/2005), former Editor of The New England Journal of Medicine. I am now reading “Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients” by Ben Goldacre (2012/2013), University of Oxford.

    … I am still a “newbie” (computer-geek term for “beginner”;) in all this, but already it seems like “…here we go again!” with Hepatitis C.

    Will it ever end?

    Maybe it is ultra-naive of me to say this, but the computing world used to be dominated by companies like IBM and Microsoft, and then along came completely new models of doing business Linux, Google. etc. (sure, they still make big bucks, but they add value!)

    … My point being that its impossible to change the old dinosaurs (i.e. you can’t teach an “old dog new tricks”;), but IT IS POSSIBLE TO INTRODUCE NEW SOLUTIONS which quickly gain acceptance because they actually work for people…

    So even if we love to knock the dinosaurs, we should also be thinking about how to achieve a better solution beyond Big Pharma?

    In the development of computing, the internet did not wait for dinosaurs. Let’s now use the internet for human health!

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    22 November 2015 at 12:52 am in reply to: More nausea-inducing news about Gilead’s strategy #4386
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    How breath-takingling callous! Its as if Gilead investors think of us as pork bellies:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxI8Jdum_9g

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjDbJQKDXCY

    “Randalph, this isn’t monopoly money we’re playing with!”

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    21 November 2015 at 11:17 pm in reply to: Double genotype story #4378
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    So the situation in Serbia is like many countries in the EU. Mail-order import of medication is not allowed (I believe Germany, France, Italy, Spain, …;), but personal import as a traveller is OK? This is really tough for people who genuinely need to import a vital medication that is completely out of reach in their own country. I do not doubt that the hand of Big Pharma has touched this kind of law (designed to “protect” patients, of course).

    Probably, the most direct route for you is to visit Australia or Bangladesh or India. There are many posts on this forum on how to do it. But maybe if you have a friend or family in the UK you could have your treatment mailed to the UK and bring it back with you?

    On mail imports, I would not want to advise you to do anything illegal in your country. It would be a terrible thing if your customs confiscated your medication. But is a chemical powder that someone orders for a research project (at your mushroom farm?) likely to be confiscated? If you have no other choice, maybe sometimes it is necessary to take a risk? As far as know the powder from China is not obviously identifiable as a medication (see other posts here about this as well).

    Good luck!

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    21 November 2015 at 6:39 pm in reply to: Reorganising the discussion forum #4365
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Hi mgalbrai,

    Yes, I totally agree with the idea that those who can afford it could make some kind of donation to help others. I posted something on this before. Sabrecat also made some great suggestions

    http://fixhepc.com/forum/have-your-say-with-the-federal-government/252-buyers-club-scheduled-to-meet-key-decision-makers.html?start=24#2276

    http://fixhepc.com/forum/have-your-say-with-the-federal-government/252-buyers-club-scheduled-to-meet-key-decision-makers.html?start=24#2276

    But this could raise several problems:

    1. It would stop the buyers club from being purely that – a buyers club – and make it into some kind of dispensing charity.
    2. And how would the club choose you should get the treatment – first-come-first served? means-tested? severity-tested (priority to F3/F4?)? What a horrible decision for someone to have to make. Most of us are here on fixHepC to get away from all that nonsense in our home countries.

    OK, maybe there is still a way – a monthly lottery, for example?

    But I do think to protect James and Friends from being accused of “doing business”, any kind of money-rasing system for those who need it should be organised (and registered) as a separate charity…

    Well, that”s my two-cents-worth.

    Best,

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    19 November 2015 at 11:05 pm in reply to: Double genotype story #4248
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Hey Geno1b4,

    If you can successfully order from Mesochem, it is not necessary to travel. There are many posts on this forum about how to order from Mesochem. The advice from mgalbrai is very helpful on this (just use the search tab on this forum to find all his posts). Generally you have to say that you are doing research and you want a quote for a certain amount of sofosbuvir+daclatasvir (or whatever is recommended by a doctor for your two genotypes). You should calculate before-hand the actual amount in grams that you want to buy (see this page: http://fixhepc.com/getting-treated/how-to-do-it/buyers-club.html)

    The main advice from mgalbrai is NEVER INDICATE that you want the stuff for yourself. You just want a quote for research project, and the amount you want just happens to correspond to a human dosage for 3 months (or 6 months if that is what the Dr says).

    You should not volunteer any information about the purpose of your order to the salesperson. But if you are asked what it is for, you need to say that you are run a RAINDEER FARM or something like that and you have heard that sofosbufir +daclatasvir has been shown to be VERY EFFECTIVE AS ANTI-VIRALS ON HUMANS, and you have a RESEARCH PROJECT with the FACULTY staff at one of the main RESEARCH OUT-STATIONS (your home address) of the UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE and you want to DO AN EXPERIMENT to see of this combination COULD BE USED ON RAINDEER.

    If the Mesochem salesperson then says they only provide API in powder form, you then reply that this is PERFECT for you because you will be mixing the powder with RAINDEER FOOD during the trials, and you would like to proceed with the order. You should then receive details of the Mesochem bank account to wire your payment (there are also posts here that will tell you part of that bank account number for Mesochem, so that you can verify that you are sending your money to the right place).

    You can probably substitute RAINDEER for any animal you like, but best to avoid very large animals like RHINO or ELEPHANT unless you really do intend to order for 10 or 20 people. But if you do that, always remember to keep the ratios of sof+led or sof+dac of the two components right so that you will be able to do the experiment for real on your next safari to Africa.

    Just remember it is not the salesperson’s job to check whether or not there are any raindeer farms in Serbia…

    I hope you get the idea?

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    18 November 2015 at 3:17 am in reply to: The Buyers Club Is Considering A Testing Service #4150
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Brilliant!

    But wouldn’t it be simpler if we called the rest of the team James as well?

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    17 November 2015 at 4:09 am in reply to: Mesochem #4068
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Hi everyone,

    It is safe to assume that Mesochem make batches of several Kg at at time and no doubt they have their own quality control procedures just like any other large industrial manufacturer. So once they know that they are producing pure API, there is no reason to suppose they will suddenly start producing junk.

    Since the fixHepC team test every batch they receive, which is probably just a small fraction of each Mesochem batch, it is extremely unlikely that anything bought from Mesochem will be less than top quality.

    The only doubt could be if someone buys what they believe to be Mesochem product through an unknown agency.

    Still, this is not to say that fixHepC should stop testing. This extra level of confidence is invaluable for anyone sourcing through fixHepC, and also for defusing the Big Pharma myth that there could be a risk associated with “generic” APIs.

    If a molecule from Mesochem, or Beacon, or Incepta, or anywhere else, is provably the same molecule as a “brand-name” molecule, then it is the same API as the brand-name API with precisely the same pharmaceutical properties.

    Water is water is H20, or whatever else you want to call it.

    Same thing for sofosbuvir if you can prove it using mass spectroscopy and NMR.

    ————————————–
    Technical note for chemists:

    In fact, it is not absolutely as clear-cut is this if a molecule contains chiral centres (which is the case for sofosbuvir) because it is possible for a molecule with the same chemical formula to have different stereo-isomers, and sometimes only one of the stereo-isomers is biologically active. But even stereo-isomers can normally be differentiated by NMR (one of Jame’s tests: http://fixhepc.com/blog/item/16-testing-provisions-patient-safety.html).

    According to a detailed report by the European Medicines agency

    http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/EPAR_-_Public_assessment_report/human/002798/WC500160600.pdf

    Sofosbuvir has 6 stereogenic centres, which “are well controlled by the synthetic process and the specifications of the raw materials.” (page 14) “… and the manufacturing process consistently produces Sofosbuvir as the most thermodynamically stable polymorphic form… Other polymorphic forms are excluded by the manufacturing process and their absence is confirmed by DSC.”

    (DSC = differential scanning calorimetry).

    End of technical note.
    —————————————-

    So if James has a good reference NMR spectrum (and there is every reason to believe that he does), then the generic APIs sourced on our behalf by fixHepC can safely be assumed to be nothing less than the genuine product…

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    13 November 2015 at 10:39 pm in reply to: Any help for US citizens? #3895
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Mike, please could you post a link to your hepmag blog?

    Thanks!

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    5 November 2015 at 4:22 am in reply to: Buyers Club Scheduled To Meet Key Decision Makers #3343
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    Hey sabrecat, a mechanism to help people who cannot cover the full amount could be really helpful for some…

    More specifically, why not modify the order form so that people can add a donation (to be used anonymously at FixHepC discretion) at the same time that they order their own meds.

    When I set up my wire transfer, I rounded up the GBP amount to be sure that the amount in AUD would be enough. I would have happily added a bit more if they possibility was presented.

    Going further, why not add a the possibility for anyone who cares to make a donation?

    Maybe one day the famous John Martin might send in a few million if he ever has any remorse over his ill-gotten fortune?

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

    4 November 2015 at 1:19 pm in reply to: Buyers Club Scheduled To Meet Key Decision Makers #3322
    Avatar photoVororo
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @vororo

    About Big Pharma Pricing
    ———————————–

    Dear Australian Decision-Makers,

    Ancient chinese proverb: Know Your Enemy.

    Here is recent analysis by Reuters (25 March, 2015):

    “CEOs at large U.S. companies collectively realized at least $6 billion more in compensation than initially estimated in annual disclosures in the five years after the financial crisis first hit…

    …An example is John Martin, the CEO of drug maker Gilead Sciences Inc, who has become the best compensated executive of a major U.S. company since the crisis, when factoring in stock and options.

    He realized $400.6 million in total compensation from 2009 to 2013, according to the Reuters analysis of the nearly 300 CEOs tracked by Equilar. That is poised to top $600 million by this summer, mostly because of additional exercises of stock options…

    …Gilead had estimated Martin’s compensation totaled only $75 million over the five years from 2009 to 2013. But Gilead’s shares have climbed nearly 300 percent since the end of 2008 while net income almost quadrupled to $12.1 billion in 2014, fueled by sales of its hepatitis C drug Sovaldi. The company declined to comment for this story.”

    (http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/25/companies-pay-ceo-idUSL2N0WM1HS20150325#MHKmYx5dbvOTAcar.97)

    Here is a link to the Equilar data:

    http://people.equilar.com/bio/john-martin-gilead-sciences/salary/6819#.VjnGZpe37z8

    Here is an excerpt from FiercePharma (25 March 2015):

    “Of course, investors aren’t likely to complain about Martin’s payoff, because they’ve seen big payoffs, too. And with the company’s hepatitis C franchise jet-fueling revenue past $20 billion in 2014, the gains continued. Gilead hasn’t filed its proxy yet this year, so we don’t yet know how his pay package fared in that record-breaking year.”

    (http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/600-million-man-gilead-ceos-stock-gains-push-compensation-way-past-estimate/2015-03-25)

    Here is a perspective from Al Jazeerai (21 November 2014):

    “Gilead’s price gouging has generated international outrage. In response, the company signed an agreement in September with seven Indian pharmaceutical producers, allowing them to sell generic versions of sofosbuvir and ledipasvir in 91 countries. It is hoped that competition among the Indian companies will result in downward pressure on price so that more people can access the medicines.

    While many health advocates, patient groups, media outlets and academics have championed the agreement, it may actually do more harm than good. Gilead portrays itself as a leader in medical innovation, but its real advance is in developing a creative business strategy of managing the competition — and gaining a public-relations boost while doing so. Specifically, Gilead’s agreement quietly undermines India’s patent laws and controls the country’s generic producers. This in turn threatens to reduce competition needed to keep medicine prices low and could ultimately shrink the global supply of affordable medicines.”

    (http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/11/pharmaceuticals-gileadhepc.html)

    Here is some analysis and recommendations from Medecins Sans Frontiers” (19 March 2015)

    “Medecins Sans Frontieres urged the generic companies to reject a highly-controversial programme that could compromise people’s treatment and confidentiality. The programme – which places multiple restrictions and demands on people receiving treatment – is designed solely to protect Gilead’s commercial interests, and is unprecedented as far as MSF is aware…

    …We’ve never seen anything like Gilead’s anti-diversion programme before, where a company can potentially violate patient confidentiality and compromise treatment outcomes in order to protect its profits…

    …MSF today also released a technical analysis of Gilead’s voluntary licence agreement with Indian manufacturers, which excludes 50 middle-income countries, where 49 million people with hepatitis C live, including Thailand, Brazil, China and Morocco…

    …Gilead is putting in place a ‘tiered pricing’ strategy for the middle-income countries excluded from its licence, which will likely result in high prices for these developing countries that could range from $2,000 to $15,000 or more per three-month treatment course. Research from Liverpool University shows that sofosbuvir could be produced for roughly $1 per pill, or $101 per treatment course.

    “We’re seeing Gilead trying everything it can to squeeze every last drop of profit out of some middle-income and high-burden countries, and millions of people with hepatitis C will have to pay the price”, said Malpani. “We are urging Gilead to make urgent changes to its company policies and its licensing agreements so that millions of people with hepatitis C are not left behind.””

    (http://www.msf.org/article/indian-generic-companies-should-reject-gilead%E2%80%99s-controversial-hepatitis-c-%E2%80%98anti-diversion%E2%80%99)

    Modern business advice: Caveat Emptor!

    Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
    Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
    Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
    Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable). Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND Ever grateful to Dr James. Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer! Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).

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