Member Info for RayPointer

Cliff is certainly a great ventriloquist!

Hi Douve
I don't think Scancell have indicated "not for profit" in their RNS.
It's just a discussion on this BB as to whether Scancell should look to make a profit or not.
ATB

I am interested to know what Scancell's definition of PR is in the context of a Covid19 vaccine.
Is it more about persuading governments and other prospective partners about the merits of Scancell's solution?

The press is fickle, with one banner headline about a possible cure one day and the next day another similar headline about a totally different product. The first product is forgotten. I suspect, in this situation, only trials underway will be getting anything close to a sustained continuity of coverage.
We have probably used up our quota of headlines for now.

Here's Lindy learning whilst sleeping

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321161

Another set of views of TW as a tipster and fund manager.

https://sharetipstersuncovered.wordpress.com/category/tom-winnifrith/

Hi Dalestar

I agree with your sentence

"If I am honest, I personally think it would be a minor miracle if Scancell's solution was chosen as the main product and I wholeheartedly agree about the value of the extra coverage in the media and I say that not because I think the science is in any way inferior simply that the big guns have the resources to ensure they win the deal. "

That is exactly why I would prefer Scancell to partner with a large pharma, rather than going it alone with HMG money.
I might be mistaken but I don't think Genetech/Roche have announced work on a vaccine.

This might not be the best website to check the vaccine initiatives but according to this site Genentech are working on 2 treatments but no vaccine work has been announced

https://milkeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/Covid19-Tracker-3-36-20-FINAL.pdf

You can but hope, but a Scancell/Genentech linkup may be too much to ask.

Hi C7
There doesn't seem any need for patents in this case since the platform already has patents.
If it evolves into a new platform, then yes Scancell would want to patent it.
But it doesn't look like a new platform to me at this stage. The important aspect is the method of achieving high avidity TCells.

The patents already exist for Immunobody, so that is protected.
The targets would likely be in the public domain and not available for patenting in the same way that Moditope target patents have been filed.
So, as far as the vaccine is concerned, there is probably no patenting required.

I guess, if it is possible to start a trial by the Autumn, then Lindy must be quite far on with the research.
You can speculate for reasons for this:
1) Using a well researched platform
2) A lot of research is being published about Covid19 maybe making the targets fairly obvious
3) I would assume that unlike cancer the virus is not being protected by regulatory TCells
4) The regulatory hurdles are being relaxed

Maybe the vaccine Lindy has in mind is therapeutic and well as preventative.
We don't know enough yet.
From a preventative point of view, as soon as the virus appears in the body the memory TCells would become effector TCells and get to work immediately.
But I'm thinking that patients already infected could also perhaps benefit from a TCell attack. It may depend on the stage of the infection.
We shall perhaps know more soon.

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/research/study-t-cell-counts-covid-19-patients-offers-clues-about-why-roche-s-actemra-might-work

This article is about a Roche product to alleviate the cytokine storm.
However, it also mentions the exhaustion of TCells trying to fight the virus.

"The team suggested that the novel coronavirus doesn’t attack T cells directly, but rather triggers an overproduction of cytokines, which in turn contributes to the depletion and exhaustion of T cells.

So, we know how good Immunobody is at activating TCells and increasing the population.
Pure speculation, but how does this sound for a combination?

a) Actemra - limits the cytokine storm
b) Immunobody- refreshes, activates and increases the TCell population aimed at the target

"Discussion around the development of a Covid-19 jab has focused on antibodies, proteins that stick to the virus and prevent it from entering cells. However, scientists believe that T-cells are critical. “It’s interesting that in Sars [another coronavirus] the long-term immunity is all T-cells, not the antibodies,” said Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford."

That's the 2nd time we have heard this said.

But she does wear a mask these days

I still dream of a young Joanna Lumley

Yeah I know. What I meant was the manufacture required to dose large populations, not manufacture for trials.
Possibly billions of doses may be required for a successful vaccine, it becomes a huge logistical exercise to achieve anywhere near the required volume.
But even for the relatively small numbers required for trials a big pharma might be able to quicken this process as well and Adrian would not be on this own for this phase of the operation.

So from the nytimes articale, vaccine developers are looking to get a vaccine available in 16 months, doing something that typically takes 16 years.
All the various phases are overlapping whereas they would normally follow on from each other.
That's one reason why I would prefer Scancell to partner with a large pharma. Their experience in running large trials and manufacturing new drugs would be invaluable.

Assuming the salary reduction lasts 12 months

AnnualSalary(in pence) x 0.25 = 1,000,000 x (breakevenSP - 8.15)

QED

Crumbs, that was a frightening article that you posted.

"What’s unknown is how long immunity lasts—and only five months into the outbreak, there is no way to know. If it’s for life, then every survivor will add to a permanent bulwark against the pathogen’s spread. But if immunity is short, as it is for the common coronaviruses, covid-19 could set itself up as a seasonal superflu with a high fatality rate—one that emerges in a nasty wave winter after winter."

So indeed, let's hope Lindy is on to something

“These results make it clear that true long-term memory cells were once effector cells that have become quiescent,” Hellerstein asserted. “This apparently keeps them poised to respond rapidly as new effector cells upon re-exposure to the pathogen.