tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19490962.post115064574847070093..comments2023-12-10T10:06:41.979+00:00Comments on mutations of mortality: Northwick ParkTerry Hamblinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06346629921055055879noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19490962.post-1152053757273621192006-07-04T23:55:00.000+01:002006-07-04T23:55:00.000+01:00And now TeGenero have gone bankrupt, and the wonde...And now TeGenero have gone bankrupt, and the wonderfully corrupt Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) whitewashed their role in the problem as usual. <BR/><BR/>Just great.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19490962.post-1150663267724596872006-06-18T21:41:00.000+01:002006-06-18T21:41:00.000+01:00George is Freda'a husband and long time collaborat...George is Freda'a husband and long time collaborator. I have worked with both of them for decades.Terry Hamblinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06346629921055055879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19490962.post-1150657634615904592006-06-18T20:07:00.000+01:002006-06-18T20:07:00.000+01:00Your comment about less than perfect animal models...Your comment about less than perfect animal models is well taken. Another recent example of this problem is the difference between the the efficacy of flavopiridol in mice and men.<BR/><BR/>Terry, a number of comapnies are looking at bispecific monoclonal antibodies that link effector cells (T-cells mostly) with their target CLL cells. When you get a chance, could you please review this technology on your blog? What are the risks of "overkill" in this type of bispecific monoclonal antibodies?<BR/><BR/>Another area that concerns me is CTLA-4 blocking antibodies as a way of goosing up the T-cell activity. It seems to me that there are bound to be significant risks anytime we take the T-cell safety switches off line. <BR/><BR/>A friend of mine got frustrated with replacing the fuse in his home every time it shorted, and hard wired it with a piece of sturdy copper wire. His house burnded down the next time th ancient circuits got overloaded, and there was no fuse to trip the circuits and shut things down.<BR/><BR/>ChayaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19490962.post-1150649178819960572006-06-18T17:46:00.000+01:002006-06-18T17:46:00.000+01:00In my very limited knowledge of immune function, i...In my very limited knowledge of immune function, it would seem to me to be problematic to 'switch on' T cell activation without requiring co-stimulation. Isn't co-stimulation designed to prevent exactly the type of immune overstimulation that these patients experienced?<BR/><BR/>Your points regarding human testing are well taken. However, this the TeGenero drug was thought to be a cross-over drug that might be active in a number of illnesses, including CLL. So one problem might be in choosing which patient population to test in. One of these diseases is rheumatoid arthritis, which is not generally a fatal disease.<BR/><BR/>Healthy volunteers are often chosen to determine the safe dose of medications. (Although studies involving the immune system as TeGenero attempted to do would/should have caused most people to think twice about using healthy volunteers, IMO.)<BR/><BR/>BTW, is George Stevenson related to Freda Stevenson, who is well-known for her work in immunotherapies for CLL? <BR/><BR/>The patients involved have all sued TeGenero, as would be expected. One of the questions their lawyers have raised is the potential for lingering damage to their immune system. <BR/><BR/>In your opinion, would the immune system suffer permanent damage because of one dose of the TeGenero drug? I wonder why that would even be possible, given that the T cells overstimulated are now probably long-gone from their systems.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com