[Mid] He puts on the Dr. Science Hat

>learned that in the mid - 1990s, the National
>Institues of Health were spending an estimated $2,400
>per victim each year on HIV/AIDS research, $200 on
>breast cancer, $100 on prostate cancer, $78 on
>Alzheimer's disease, $34 on Parkinson's, and only $20
>each on diabetes and coronary heart disease."

Funding per patient per disease really doesn't make a
lot of sense for a number of reasons. Many diseases
(I'm willing to bet Parkinsons is one of them) would
get a lot less funding, while heart disease would get
tons more. Given that the NIH mostly funds primary
research and you end up with a situation where
billions of dollars would go to research a well known
but common diseases, and a $1.50 would go to research
something rare about which we are completely in the
dark.

This might make sense if a cure is almost within reach
but for the primary "groping and hoping" kind of
resarch the the NIH funds it makes a lot more sense to
fund the things we know the least about.

Also, if you look at how drug companies spend their
research money, dollars per patient is a pretty good
fit. Cancer and heart disease are huge. This dollar
per patient ratio was such a problem that they created
the orphan drug act to encourage drug companies to
look into rare diseases.*

The other thing to think of is what, exactly, HIV
research looks like. While you may never get HIV, I'm
pretty certain you will be exposed to a virus or two
and you do use an immune system from time to time.
Our knowlege of the immune system has exploded in the
last 20 years, primarily as a result of HIV research.
Our ability to treat HIV is much better, but there
have been payoffs in oncology, anti-virals and
autoimmune disease treatment.

Avery <The preceding is my opinon and not the big
company I work for that I will leave unnamed.>

*In fact, an orphan drug has taken up much of my time
for the past two years and probably for the next year
as well.

From: Avery Austringer <avery1415@sbcglobal.net>
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Received on Fri Oct 29 17:28:42 2004