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[ChairmanPoo]

Why did you decide against it? Just curious


(For the record, I finished two months ago. Am currently preparing the MIR exam)

[counting]

Against what? Been a doctor? Well, back then the future of computer-related field are more lucrative, so I choose electronics. Then it bubbled. So to financials business. And several years next - the economic crisis, get hit again, back to school for emergency break. (Smart phone and social network, future of economics platform and the solution of all human conditions , just kidding.)

P.S. I am not familiar with the medical ladder in Spain. In Taiwan, you need to finished 5 years of study, 1 year of observer/apprentice, then pass into 1 year of internship. Then you are "graduated" in the Taiwan 7 years of medical training. After that you can choose to take the national test to get the diploma as a certified doctor or not. Then you can apply for the residency in hospitals. But this year the Post Graduate Year is extended so you will need another year of training in the hospital before you can enter the hell of residency (3 to 4 years). So it effectively becomes 8 years of medical training before actually becomes a doctor. And about 12 years before you are able to open a clinic of your own. It's really not what I am looking for and able to take physically. (Health issues)

[optimumtact]

I would just like to say that I applaud the researchers and would gladly risk having my skin sloughed off if there was a chance these drugs could be used for humans.

[Solifuge]

For the second "viral cure" thing, I'm still pretty skeptical.  I wouldn't be surprised if most of our cells have some (harmless) virus, or some left over DNA from some virus that infected one of our ancestors and accidentally got integrated into our genome. 

I'll believe it more when they inject a person with it and the person doesn't start shedding their skin as every cell in their body dies.   

The Leukemia thing sounds a bit more plausible to me.  I hope that turns out to be something.

I'd believe that viral DNA could have entered our Genome at various points in our evolutionary history. However, remember that within 1 generation, that would have been transcribed and archived by our sex cells into DNA, rather than RNA, so the proposed Anti-Every-Virus-Ever shouldn't have any effect on our existing DNA.

Simply fantastic news. This is groundbreaking and incredibly exciting! Sure, it may lead to some measure of genetic weakness in humans in the long-term, but that's what culture and science is for; evolving our bodies for increased survival, outside the biological mechanics we've been given.

[alway]

Doctors have treated only three leukemia patients,

Red flags being raised even from the first half of the first sentence. Don't get me wrong, it's a very promising avenue of research, but until it has a decent sample size the results aren't worth much on their own.

As for the antiviral DRACO, again, the science isn't in yet, but it is also a promising path of future research.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Doctors have treated only three leukemia patients,

Red flags being raised even from the first half of the first sentence. Don't get me wrong, it's a very promising avenue of research, but until it has a decent sample size the results aren't worth much on their own.

That's just human trials, though. If it's gotten this far, there are almost certainly animal tests, unless leukemia is only possible in humans.

As for the antiviral DRACO, again, the science isn't in yet, but it is also a promising path of future research.

It cures all sorts of stuff in cell cultures, and definitely works on influenza in mice. That's a good sign.

[Miggy]

This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm happy that humanity is making advancements on this scale still. Especially since I'll hopefully be working with something like this in the future.

Also very pleased to see that the medicine were come to by innovation rather than luck. Both seem to be smart people being smart, and cleverly designing new treatment. Not just finding a fungus in the rainforest we hadn't seen before that magically fixes everything. Hurray for science!

[Chaoswizkid]

I stand in awe in the face of such accomplishments, for truly they have been the many-hatched dream so many have had.

I very much hope this realization stays fulfilled.

[Sowelu]

So, for people who understand the science:  How expensive does the antiviral look?  Specifically, does it need to be customized per-patient?

The leukemia cure is going to be ridiculously expensive and time-consuming, because it IS a per-patient thing, and requires so much effort to customize for each person.  Getting treated itself looks mostly painless, but you need a large team of lab techs to slave away for a while to produce your very own cure.

I dunno about the antiviral though.  I don't even know much about the delivery mechanism.  If it doesn't need to be customized, are we talking injections?  An IV drip?  A pill?  I'd love it if someone could weigh in on that.  All politics and economics aside, if it's cheap to make, then once the patents run out (20 years is not a long time) we're all set.

[counting]

From what I read, it's simply an oligomerizer - a composition of 3 major proteins structures : identifier (identify virus related dsRNA > 30~50) + activator (trigger the cell suicide with precaspase) + deliverer (allow DRACO entering living cell), in essence a chimeric protein. It's probably introducing these 3 domains of combined DNA into certain engineered bacteria and incubated, then purified the chimeric protein the bacteria produced. In standardized manufacturing, I think it will be cheap. (Some medicines already using similar manufacturing methods). I am not sure how they were sure the combined protein structure remained folding with the right shape and functions, but I guess they just try it anyway, or the details are just not included.

Customized is done via different domains. It's already mark at least 5 different Identifiers for identifying different dsRNA. (the identifier using in mice is PKR). And 3 different kind of activators to trigger cell suicide. And the deliverer is just added to allow the DRACO entering the cell, but it also has 3 kinds. (It compares the effectiveness of these 3 kinds of deliveries combined with one kind of identifier - PKR. Two of the deliverer proteins are even from HIV, since it's so successful in masking its way into human cell.). So it's not customized to particular person, but rather combined all the bests in these 3 domains and create a series of different DRACOs.

And I don't think the sequences itself (and the proteins) can be patents, but the manufacturing processes can.

[Heliogabalus]

Super Cool! Though the name is kinda ominous.

But I don't think it will be cheap, even if you can mass produce it with no customization. Compare it to recombinant Factor VIII for haemophiliacs, costs maybe 150000$ per year per patient, or something like that (it was a quick googling). That's one simple protein, the sequence is pubic, the methods are standard, still very expensive. The rules for producing medicine you inject straight into you blood are very strict, and probably for good reason.

[Eagleon]

On the other hand, this is the kind of innovation entire economies are built around. I have no doubt we'll find a way to mass produce a drug of this importance if it ends up working. The amount of money that goes into care for people with viruses (from colds up through to HIV) practically guarantees it.

[ChairmanPoo]

He has a point, though. Drugs are expensive in general.

It's worth noting that these costs are relative, though. For instance, immunosuppresants are terribly expensive, but comparatively speaking it's cheaper to pay for kidney transplants and immunosuppresion protocols than to pay for dyalsis.

[Cheese]

If the antivirals are approved, I wonder if the NHS would use them. It would cost them shedloads of money, since people would want it for even the common cold.

[ChairmanPoo]

It's still in animal testing phases, so it's not like it will get approved tomorrow. It's safety needs to be established in different animal models (3? I think) before human testing is considered, and after that come the different phases.