Week 55

The other week, I mentioned a new drug, potentially for people at a further progressed stage of MS called laquinimod. It is an oral therapy that is made by a company called Active Biotech, who are in partnership with Teva - the company that make Copaxone. 

I'm surprised that the progressive side of MS hasn't already been tapped into by the drug companies. Up until now they've put all their eggs in the 'Relapsing remitting' basket, which from a business sense is wrong. A person with MS will generally spent a lot more of their life in the progressive phase of the illness as opposed to the relapsing remitting one. Therefore, if they can come up with a treatment for primary and secondary progressive MSers, they'll be able to sell their medications to the care trusts for the rest of the patients life, as opposed to the, 5+ years that an MSer will be 'just' relapsing remitting. 

Now that might all sound a bit cynical, but lets be honest, treating MS is BIG business. We are talking a multi-billion pound industry here and all these companies would go bust if they ever did find a cure for MS. 

Take, for example, the company that have the licence to sell Lemtrada. It is called Genzyme and 2011, a French pharmaceutical company called Sanofi bought them for over $20 Billion! That is not a typo. They paid over twenty billion US dollars, or +$20,000,000,000. They won't be looking for a cure anytime soon. 

This is why I believe the Pharmas are only interested in treating MS and certainly not curing it. Our best bet is with all the research into Stem Cells. There's the answer, it's just waiting to be discovered. 

Anyway, that's my conspiracy theory over. I am supposed to be talking about Gilenya, but I have no new news on the current treatment that I am on. The symptom relief I get is stable. Well, bar a few heat related hiccups I've had of late, but in the northern hemisphere, summer is over, so my nagging eye related and neuropathic pain issues have died down too. 

Maybe Teva could trial Copaxone and laquinimod? I'd give it a go. 

Happy Friday, people. 

Dan