Have you noticed that the talking heads who were so visible prior to Tysabri's re-approval have disappeared? Maybe, once there was no chance of queering the re-approval, the hired guns lost interest in the "safety profile" of Tysabri? You seem to be the last guy carrying the banner.

I'm guessing the reason some of them aren't around anymore is because there isn't too much say about whether Tysabri is going to get re-approved. I stated from the very beginning, after the drug was originally pulled, that the FDA would re-approve the drug because there is simply too much money at issue here.

Exactly the same thing happened over on the ThisIsMs forum after Tysabri got its original approval...only in the opposite way. A few other people and I continually stated at that time that Tysabri was a potentially dangerous drug and that a great deal of caution had to be followed when using it. I can't count the number of times some readers called us "Tysabri bashers, fear mongers and hidden agenda people over the course of about 4 months. And then, out of the blue, Biogen pulled the drug after PML showed up. All of a sudden these people disappeared and the name calling stopped...wonder why?

And I somehow doubt that we have heard the end of the problems with Tysabri. This drug plays with the immune system too much and there is simply too much unknown about it at this time.


Won't disagree with you on that one...but in the Big Pharma business, these competitors are ruthless when it comes to bashing one another. Not surprising when billions of dollars are on the line!!!

Afraid I can't agree with you on the safety of Tysabri at this time....even Biogen admits they don't know any long term effects on the drug. As for the efficacy, it really doesn't take much to beat the record of the CRABs, does it?

Harry

The "talking heads" I was referring to are not the denizens of these boards; they are the "experts" trotted out by Teva and the other drug companies whose drug sales stood to suffer if Tysabri was approved.; all those doctors on their payrolls, via lucrative "research grants", who carried on so, as well as the columnists who seemed to consistently "get it wrong". Why are they all silent now? If this was really about safety, why would they stop talking?

IMO, it was all about money...you're right. You just have the identity of the bad guys wrong.

Rex,


These "paid experts" by Teva, Serona and Burlex are no different than those from Biogen/Elan. Before Tysabri even got into general use the first time around, Biogen sponsored a web cast in Philadelphia which featured a host (he could have worked "Let's Make a Deal" with his antics) and a panel of "experts" in front of an audience of specially invited medical guests.

Talk about watching a circus of promotion by Biogen...big time marketing at its best!! All of these big pharmas have marketing/sales departments which spend millions on promoting their drugs to the docs and public. But don't for one minute think that Biogen's competitors have gone away. All of these people lurk in the background, waiting for the one event or incident that they can pounce on order to make the "other guy" look bad and perhaps get back a percent or two of that lucrative MS medication market....those 2% can translate into $ millions!! And with Tysabri, it isn't "if" something will happen, it's "when" something will happen.

Biogen/Elan are no different than the other people in this area...they just happen to have the latest MS drug out there. When these other pharmas come out with something else, the shoe will be on the other foot and Biogen will be doing exactly the same thing as these other guys are doing now. It has nothing to do with interest in MS patients but everything to do, like you said, about the money!!

Harry