I always like good news and someone told me there was a new drug to treat MS and I found it. Quoting:

Tysabri, which was developed under the name Antegren but took the new name with the FDA approval, is a type of drug known as a monoclonal antibody. It is derived from a mouse antibody that has been genetically engineered to resemble a human antibody. Antibodies are specialized proteins produced as part of the immune response.

Once infused — the drug is given once a month in a doctor’s office — the lab-engineered antibodies bind to immune system cells, preventing them from crossing from the bloodstream into the brain, where they can cause the damage associated with MS.

That’s great news but there’s a downside aside from the fact clinical trials aren’t yet complete. Although the drug has already gotten FDA approval. One would hope they would be a bit more cautious all things (Vioxx) considering.

Reingold expressed concern about the possible cost of the new drug, which the two companies have not yet priced. Some analysts predict Tysabri will cost between $20,000 and $30,000 a year.

“If they are smart, and kind, and concerned about patient access, they will make it competitive with the other drugs or under the market rate,” Reingold said. “But that doesn’t seem to be the trend in the drug industry.”

Drug companies are notoriously greedy. Quoting PharmExec:

“We believe Tysabri will rapidly capture a significant portion of 100,000 patients in the U.S. and Europe [who] are not currently on existing therapy due to intolerance or lack of efficacy and the 60,000 patients…[who] are currently on treatment but are not receiving adequate benefit and/or are intolerant of therapy,” Ende said in a research report Wednesday.

What about those patients not on existing therapy cause they can’t afford it? They still won’t get therapy. And combination therapy with Avonex (both from the same company incidentally) will be even more expensive, think $30,000 a year for sure. If one can afford it, probably a good idea to invest in Biogen. There’s a bundle to be made there. Me, I’m waiting for the Copaxone derivatives and sticking with Copaxone. Hey, side effects are virtually nonexistant, just stings after being injected. And there is an interesting fact about Copaxone I just discovered. It was developed in Israel. Teva, the company that makes it is an Israeli company.

I won’t go into details about the awful weekend at work cause it would bore any sane person. However, yesterday I did have the misfortune of being so stupid as to lock my bedroom door then feel for the keys only to discover they were still in the room. This when I was about to leave for work. Kid wasn’t answering her phone (she had the other key) so I called a locksmith. He arrived fairly quick only to spend over a half hour trying to unlock it without any luck. He said it was damaged, thinking maybe I did have the door locked and the burgler messed it up unlocking it. Whatever, it was not going to open. Last ditch resort - drill it which destroyed it but at least I got in to get my keys. And I did make it to work, not quite an hour late but not a good start to the night.

Now to the good stuff, got my first Christmas card today. I know, who gets excited over a Christmas card? See, it was from President Bush. Well, it was paid for by the RNC but it’s the thought that counts. They appreciate my money.

Then I got a good pic of Meowza, that in itself is amazing as the cats always seem to move before the flash recharges. I’m still puzzled as to why the pics won’t load into iPhoto 4.03 on the G5, says it’s an unrecognized file type. Works fine in iPhoto 2.01 on the iBook. Used to work on the G5, just latest two batches didn’t. Odd.

Is at Watermark this week. And with 32 sites entered, it is chock full of pretty kitties. I had forgotten to send my entry/entries in early (always wait til the last minute in case I have more entries) and, seeing as I worked all weekend (horrible weekend too), I forgot. Yeah so, there are still plenty of cute kitties to amuse. Now excuse me while I crash.