Possible simple cure for cancer, pharmaceutical companies not interested

Caporegime
Joined
29 Jan 2008
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58,898
I don't see and issue here - why would pharmaceutical companies be interested in researching further usage of a drug they can no longer make a decent margin from. They're not charities, they're not Universities, they're profit making companies. They spend money on research in order to bring products to market and sell at a profit.

If a random psychology research group found that playing mario on an old NES system helped kids with autism would we also feel outraged that Nintendo had no interest in funding further research.

IF this is something that requires further research then there are plenty of people out there with an interest in curing cancer - its not exactly a rare illness...
 
Associate
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28 Mar 2006
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Hull/Sheffield
It's nothing new. Being able to cure cancer in cells present in a test tube is not a new thing. Part of my end of year dissertation was to do with Certain anti tumour drugs. A coupe showed very promising results on human cancer cells in a test tube (almost 100% cure rate) however when tested in the human body in phase 2 trials, it turned out to not be effective what so ever.

As people have said before, drug research is not cheap. Unless the company can make a profit from it in the end then they are not interested. They are a business after all.
 
Caporegime
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I remember this ages ago, didn't it need something like direct application or huge concentrations and wouldn't work outside of a petri dish and inside a person.

But equally if this is so cheap and effective as they claim why hasn't one of the NPOs or cancer research charities funded it?
 
Man of Honour
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Vvardenfell
Companies not interested in non profit making ventures. Wonders will never cease!


Because it would cost them many millions to do the testing - probably tens of millions. And they'd get none of it back. They are a business, not a charity.


Also, I would imagine we are talking a "cure for cancer" in the Daily Mail sense here? Some interesting very early results which will almost certainly peter out?


M
 
Caporegime
Joined
30 Jun 2007
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68,770
Location
Wales
There's no money in a cure

There's an amazing amount of money.

People are still going to to get cancer you cure them they pay you a fortune, then when the next lot develop it you cure them and take your cash.

Cancer isn't small pox you can't wipe it out.


And more importantly they're all coming to you, hundreds of millions of people, not your competitors as they do now.
 
Associate
Joined
7 Feb 2008
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2,377
Location
Surrey
There is always some nutter saying they have actually cured cancer but there is no money in it so they are keeping it secret. I was actually discussing it with someone on Friday night. Utter garbage. If people want to buy it, someone will sell it, whether it's a giant like GSK or some start up VC company.
 

RDM

RDM

Soldato
Joined
1 Feb 2007
Posts
20,612
What about the cancer research charity, this is set up to provide funding for this kind of research

Nothing more than a front for big pharma, their sole purpose is to stop cheap, reliable miracle cures like this from ever getting to market...
 
Soldato
Joined
2 Jan 2005
Posts
8,429
Location
leeds
this happens all the time - there was a potential cancer drug in my old uni chemistry dept that was significantly better than current drugs. But it was already published and so couldn't be patented.
no company is going to spend tens of millions on clinical trials without a patent, as it means of it works another company can just jump in and make/sell it - the original company could never make that research money back and goes bust. thats why patents exist in the first place - without them, expensive research stops dead.

the patent law really needs amending to help this sort of situation.
 
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