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613 Comments
- tavallai, on 01/26/2009, -18/+643Phuck big farma.
- Beatmiser, on 01/26/2009, -7/+291I'm a type one diabetic. I have been since I was 19. I'm 33 now. In the last year I've lost most of the feeling in my feet and have been having a really rough time.
Reading this really hurt. - kemp34, on 01/26/2009, -13/+288Diabetics are cash cows. Why would these money centers want to actually heal people?
- marleymar, on 01/26/2009, -10/+228It's nice to know the pharmaceutical companies are on our side. It's make me feel good inside to know they're trying to help find a cure that affects millions of people worldwide... and not just trying to make a buck off of those who suffer and can't decide whether to pay for rent or to buy the medicine to keep themselves alive. WTF?!
- tripledjr, on 01/26/2009, -18/+203Yo dawg I hear you like diabetes so I ignored the cure.
- stix213, on 01/26/2009, -8/+134"Weissman ran into a road block when pharmaceutical companies refused to sponsor clinical trials. "
While I really hope that Weissman's treatment that works on mice can work on humans, when he says that the companies refused to sponsor clinical trials what he is really saying is that they refused to hand him tens of millions of dollars. Just keep that in mind, and there is probably a reason (not mentioned in the article) why no one else would just give him that money either. - sarazen, on 01/26/2009, -1/+110Big pharma is not always the best place to look for funding of something that isn't pharmacological. There are other places outside of the government to get such funding though. Perhaps he should have gone to HHMI.
- nomonkey, on 01/26/2009, -1/+102I'm sorry to hear that,man. Good luck to you.
- inactive, on 01/26/2009, -10/+105Based on all the ethical behavior I've seen in big business lately...I completely believe this could happen.
- SpectralSounds, on 01/26/2009, -6/+79Yeah, that is the issue. Big Pharma is all about "maintaining" and never "curing". There is no money in a cure.
- GREEDOnvrFIRED, on 01/26/2009, -2/+71Is there any "small" pharma? And couldn't they swoop in and make billions as the only company pimping a cure for Diabetes?
- Jeeum, on 01/26/2009, -7/+73Digg has exhausted every possible "Cure for cancer ignored" story, so now we're moving on to diabetes.
- AmazingSteve, on 01/26/2009, -20/+86Who in their right mind actually believes that the pharmaceutical industry wants ANYTHING cured? Cures are good for you but bad for business. Guess who comes out on top. Hint, it ain't you.
- Lucas123, on 01/26/2009, -3/+67A very close friend of mine died from Type 1 fourteen years ago. Can someone tell me about one major advancement in the treatment of diabetes since then? Maybe I'm missing it.
- JayClark, on 01/26/2009, -4/+59Not that this invalidates his claims, but are we to believe that this one man is able to do what no one else in the profession is able to do, not once but twice?
Isn't that a bit too convenient?
I also don't buy the "Big Pharma wants us sick to keep their profits up!" argument. *****. The first company to bring a diabetes or cancer cure to market will make a killing. Besides, they're not all making treatments now. A company that is not currently making medicines to treat these ailments could come out with a cure and eat their competitors alive.
That's not to mention tha the reporter that brought such a scheme to light (with verifiable proof, not hear-say) would gain awards and fame like they couldn't believe. We also have to accept that every high level executive (and god knows how many support staff) would have to be completely heartless and not know anyone who could be helped by these cures. These types of conspiracies collapse under their own weight.
In short, I don't buy it, and I won't until we've got something more concrete thatn "according to this guy, he's the greatest genius ever but The Man is keeping him down!" - div2n, on 01/26/2009, -4/+57Not sure if this is true, but what IS true is that the big money is in treatments, not cures.
- j3ff86, on 01/26/2009, -6/+56Tracy: So, how am i looking, Dr. Spaceman?
Dr. Spaćeman: Tracy, I don't know how to say this: Dee-AY-buh-tees?
Tracy: Diabetes?
Dr. Spaćeman: That's it. Now we know what we're dealing with. Unless you make some serious lifestyle changes, you're in danger of becoming diabetic.
Tracy: So how bad is diabetes, really?
Dr. Spaćeman: Quite serious. If left untreated, you could lose a foot!
Tracy: Could i replace it with a wheel, like Rosie from the Jetsons?
Dr. Spaćeman: I suppose, but then you'd have to register it as a motor vehicle! - eRenee, on 01/26/2009, -6/+55What would they do with all that insulin and injector needles?
FTA: Twelve years ago, Irving Weissman discovered a treatment that might have saved the lives of thousands of women with advanced breast cancer, but pharmaceutical companies weren’t interested in developing the therapy. Though that interest is finally being reignited, Weissman doesn’t pull any punches. “I hate to say I told you so,” he said. - cdbeshore, on 01/26/2009, -2/+45my daughter has cystic fibrosis and the cystic fibrosis foundation had to take it upon themselves to raise money to fund studies. The big pharmas don't see any money in giving a ***** about a disease that "only" effects 35,000 people. So, indeed, phuck big farma.
- SkippyDoorknob, on 01/26/2009, -4/+44Yeah, but that sort of thinking doesn't penetrate tinfoil hats...
- kingmanic, on 01/26/2009, -0/+39according to pubmed there have been 156179 articles on human diabetes since 1994.
Major advances I am aware of:
-they found a drug that makes you more sensitive to insulin which may help some patients.
-they have clinical trials going on for Islet Cell Transplants which may be a long term cure.
-many advances in the regular treatment of diabetes and the synthesis of insulin. - cloudberries, on 01/26/2009, -1/+36I would imagine they'd want cures as much as the oil industry wants limitless renewable energy.
- guru42101, on 01/26/2009, -0/+33This is kind of odd. The lab that I work at is basically doing the same thing (under an NIH grant) you'd think if someone has already done it we wouldn't be re-doing the work. I think some information in that article is off or Mr Weissman had a good theory but never actually put the effort into it.
We've since changed the game plan a little bit and are now taking normal pancreatic cells and changing them into beta cells (beta cells create insulin). The work isn't complete yet tho as the efficiency of the new beta cells is about 50% of normal beta cells. It is almost enough to save someone from having to have insulin as long as they eat a very strict diet.
http://www.betacell.org - JosefH, on 01/26/2009, -3/+34Better than cancer cure, that makes zombies.
- redrambler, on 01/26/2009, -0/+30I'm with you man....I'm 25 and a type 1 too. All we can do it check out sugar a lot, and take our insulin. Even if people or companies try to wane on a cure, there will always be science to keep us moving forward. Obama's in office now, stem cell research will continue, and I can see us in the clear in the next 10 years. Just keep your blood clean until then!
- otherbot, on 01/26/2009, -1/+29Actually, I think consumers and our insurance companies paid for it. In case you haven't noticed, they charge a lot for these medications that, as Spectral Sounds says, maintain not cure. So ya', ***** them.
- guyincognitoo, on 01/26/2009, -0/+28If it had any merit, NIH or some European equivalent would fund him without any issue.
- ricker2005, on 01/26/2009, -3/+30Actually, if your company isn't making insulin right now the cure would be worth a hell of a lot more. Not only would you make tons of money but you would crush a major source of money for your competitors.
- treehugger87, on 01/26/2009, -3/+29...and makes so much money!
- Asvetic, on 01/26/2009, -7/+33They can't draw a revenue stream from healthy people.
- trudesea, on 01/26/2009, -5/+31Been type 1 since age 4, almost 37 now. Been on a pump for over 12 years.
I spend so much money on supplies and insulin it ain't even funny. Companies are making a freakin' fortune on diabetics.
I knew Stem cells would be our salvation when they first appeared in the media, but damn, I wish we could class action the pharms - DyceFreak, on 01/26/2009, -5/+29the cure would be priceless, which is not a good number for the people who put a price on disease.
pharma doesn't make money from cures, but from ailments... - Beatmiser, on 01/26/2009, -1/+25It's not a cure for type one diabetes. It's a cure for type two. They are two different diseases.
Type 1, they type I have is far more deadly and is brought on (believed) by a virus killing the pancreas' ability to produce insulin. You are insulin dependent and if you do not take shots daily you die.
Type 2 which this article has nothing to do with- can be controlled by diet and exercise.
But ignorant people lump us together all the time. So I'm used to it. - minuslars, on 01/26/2009, -0/+24Unfortunately, pharma companies hear promises like these all the time. And they are pretty common in science. The NIH would have funded this guy, no question, if his research had been as promising as he makes it out to be. Furthermore, pharmaceutical companies typically only get involved in Phase III clinical trials - if this guy expected to get Phase I or Phase II trials through a pharma company, he doesn't understand the business. Most of those are government-funded.
Diseases that affect only a "few" people are typically specialties of smaller pharmaceutical or government/academic efforts.
I'm not on Pharma's side, btw. They're blood sucking leeches any way you look at it. But there is a business aspect that people who have never had any exposure to cannot appreciate. - kingofinternet, on 01/26/2009, -3/+26True story: city hospital spends millions on a new patient counseling center to prevent diabetes, but insurance companies only cover treatment not prevention -> there is only money in treating complications of diabetes like amputations -> patient counseling center closes. Textbook case of the market encouraging the suffering and ignorance of people.
- treehugger87, on 01/26/2009, -0/+23Doug, that's a little callous if only for how true it is. Hearing the system described the way you put it makes it sound pretty broken. Why should finding a cure for a terrible disease that effects the human race have anything to do with money? Why should a great (i.e. high pay) scientist be sent to a lab to work on erection drugs and the lesser (i.e. low pay) scientist be shuffled off to work on a cure that could allow a father to see his daughter grow to full adulthood and live a normal life if only there were enough funding?
I'm no communist, but there has got to be a better way to make ethical decisions than which problem will make us more money. - Gravey9, on 01/26/2009, -0/+23wtf does your equation mean?
- bigdoof, on 01/26/2009, -0/+23Wow, a logical response in a sea of "***** BIG PHARMA!"
The VAST VAST majority of therapies that work in mice don't translate to humans, and clinical trials aren't cheap to run. I think a lot of people would be surprised at how many cancer, diabetes, AIDs, etc. therapies are developed each year, but don't survive the rigors of clinical trial or simple reality. It has little to do with massive pharmaceutical conspiracy, and more to do with the sheer volume of potential therapies, and the reality that most of them will not work well once translated to humans.
If even a smaller pharmaceutical company, or one separated from the insulin market is unwilling to fund his allegedly revolutionary project, you can rest assured that it's not due to an evil conspiracy, but likely something to do with the research itself. - jskill, on 01/26/2009, -0/+23Hey man I'm with ya too...I am 22 and have been type 1 since I was 15. Hopefully we finally see some of these potential cures get somewhere...Hopefully you don't encounter any more complications.
- NotYourProdigy, on 01/26/2009, -17/+39A full cure means no business. This is disgusting.
- Pinkertinkle, on 01/26/2009, -5/+26Maybe he shoulda found a pharma company that wasn't involved in selling insulin who would love to take a chunk outta that business.
- BoneheadFarker, on 01/26/2009, -0/+21Hmmmm...a report on soybeans curing heart disease, coming from the United Soybean Board. Yeah, there's no conflict of interest there at all...
- sHockz, on 01/26/2009, -7/+28Curing = bad business practice
Masking the issue over long term time frames = $$$$profit
do you think they would release a $5 easily manufacturered pill that could cure cancer? of course not, think of the job loss...money lost from hospitals, insurance companies, schools that teach about cancer, etc etc etc
oooooooo but thats just some big conspiracy right? the FDA and Rx companies would NEVER EVER EVER do anything like that. i guess i need to adjust me tin hat for better reception ;-) - tsotha, on 01/26/2009, -3/+23Reminds me of all those stories about a new kind of carburator that will get you 10,000 miles to the gallon. But "Big Oil" bought it and killed it!
- PFCWilliams, on 01/26/2009, -21/+41Are we on this garbage again now that the elections are over?
Cure for cancer and aids every week, and major pharmaceutical corporations keeping them secret?
Don't you people get tired of this *****? - JoeDiggsIt, on 01/27/2009, -4/+24Yo dawg I hear you like diabetes so I ignored the cure, so you can go into diabetic shock while you die.
- Fratz, on 01/26/2009, -1/+20Do you mean to tell me that if I had a viable diabetes cure, nobody would pay me anything for it?
- EricSchC1, on 01/26/2009, -1/+20Was that a low-flying aircraft I just heard?
- JayClark, on 01/26/2009, -1/+20Also, if this guy had something this important (twice!), what is he doing talking to the Columbia Spector (who? their page isn't working for me btw) about it? And what did he do, go to "Big Pharma" (how do you do that exactly?) and then give up? Why doesn't he publish his results in a peer reviewed journal, and hit up every last possible source for funding once his results are verified? There must be some wealthy person who's willing to pay for this (Bill Gates anyone?).
- CoD4, on 01/26/2009, -10/+27Can't be more than what they're making now
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