Hep C Drugmakers' Best Outcome

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Treating hepatitis C is a losing proposition. Unlike treatments for chronic diseases -- high blood pressure or diabetes, for instance -- if a hepatitis C drug does its job, the patient is cured. It's a one-and-done treatment. Since the hepatitis C epidemic peaked many years ago, hepatitis C drugmakers need to find a new source of patients.

A report published in Clinical Infectious Diseases might have the solution: people who are already infected, but don't know it yet.

Current guidelines recommend testing only people who have identified risk factors such as drug use, blood transfusions before blood-bank testing began in 1992, or unexplained liver-function abnormalities, for example -- but that misses a substantial number of infected individuals. Estimates vary, but somewhere between 50% and 75% of people infected with hepatitis C don't know it.

Most probably have the risk factors, but they're unwilling to admit to the drug use, especially if it was years ago, or have forgotten about the blood infusion. Or the doctors aren't asking the right questions to identify the risk factors -- it's a touchy subject, you know.

The solution: Test everyone. You'll get a lot of negative results -- less than 2% of the population is infected -- but you'll catch those who might not have been diagnosed before they progress to serious liver problems.

The researchers plugged everything from costs to cure rates to likelihood of progression of liver disease and a lot of additional parameters into one giant formula and concluded that it would be cost-effective to screen everyone between the age of 20 and 69. Hepatitis C leads to liver cancer and other complications, and eliminating the cost of a liver transplant -- a quarter-of-a-million-dollar procedure -- can make up for a lot of $20 tests.

Sounds good, in theory
One journal article isn't going to change public policy; that will require a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is a slow and methodical process.

If the CDC does institute universal testing for adults, hepatitis C test makers would certainly benefit. Just keep in mind that there's substantial competition out there: Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT  ) , Roche, Siemens, and OraSure Technologies (Nasdaq: OSUR  ) all sell hepatitis C tests. They don't disclose margins on individual tests, but considering the number of players involved, I'd have to guess they aren't great.

Drugmakers developing hepatitis C treatments will be the real beneficiaries if more people are diagnosed. With the cost of treatment in the $80,000 range, each new patient is quite valuable.

That is, if they're treated
As the authors of the paper point out, screening is cost-effective -- and makes drugmakers money -- only if the patients who test positive are actually treated. Hepatitis C is a chronic infection that takes years to do any real damage in patients. Unlike cancer, where there's an immediate need for treatment, hepatitis C patients can take their time.

That could mean patients are lost to follow-up. It could also mean patients wait until drugs go off patent and there are cheap generics available before taking the drugs.

Identifying more patients is good, but they're not going to be moneymakers without the help of doctors.

Something companies can control
The cure rate of hepatitis C drugs is one of the factors that determine whether testing is worth the effort. If there were no way to treat patients, identifying infected patients would be only marginally useful.

As it is, Vertex Pharmaceuticals' (Nasdaq: VRTX  ) Incivek has increased the standard of care substantially. Roche's Pegasys and Merck's (NYSE: MRK  ) Pegintron cure about half of the patients, while adding Incivek increases that to around 70%.

As Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD  ) , Abbott, and others develop better drugs, and we get closer to 100% cure rates, the benefit of testing will increase. It would be nice to have the patients waiting when the second-round of oral medications are approved, but drugmakers might have to get the drugs approved first and then show that identifying additional patients is beneficial.

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Source: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/03/16/hep-c-drugmakers-best-outcome.aspx

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How You Can Select A Offender Defense Lawyer

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What's a lot more, when you hire a guru, you have should be expected that the cost will probably be higher than hiring somebody else with only a moderate measure of knowledge or practical knowledge. You have significantly at stake, and doubt pertaining to your lawyer, should, if you take percentage of your day to find a superb one, not be considered one of your worries. The defense attorney will give the client together with the best service determined by experience. If you were charged by law enforcement with a civil infraction or simply a petty offense; does it call for the services of an Las Vegas offender defense attorney? An enduring criminal history can impede a prospective buyers of are no company should consider hiring you as a consequence of that. When choosing some sort of criminal defense legal practitioner, you will needs to be very careful on not hiring someone mainly because he is inexpensive or promises a strong outcome (that is certainly unethical and wrong).

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Learn How To Get Your Finances Under Control

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Source: http://www.legaldebthelponline.com/2012/03/14/learn-how-to-get-your-finances-under-control/

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Source: http://www.legaldebthelponline.com/2012/03/14/keep-track-of-your-money-with-personal-finance-software/

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What Can March Madness Teach You About Getting Out of Debt?

All 68 of the teams in the 2012 NCAA Tournament?best known as ?March Madness??will have at least one thing in common when the tournament starts today.

No matter what type of season they had, whether they are 28-2 or 15-15, whether the year has been filled with injuries or as miraculous as a Disney story, all of these teams only need to win six more games to be national champions.

No matter what has happened in the past, the season starts over today. Each team, each player, each coach has a fresh slate. Past mistakes?missed shots, bad passes, poor coaching decisions?have all been wiped clean. Today, the future?winning the next six games?is all that matters.

But these teams don?t start out in the first round thinking about playing in the championship. They have to approach the tournament ?one game at a time.? Athletes and coaches have said that so often that it?s become cliché.

To win, these teams have to focus on the here and now?today?s game. When they win that first round game, they move on to the second round, which involves another round of game planning and preparation. They focus on each opponent, one at a time.

That?s how you attack debt, right? In our world, we refer to each of those ?opponents? as debts in the debt snowball, but it?s the same message. You pay today?s bill and then pay tomorrow?s bill until you eventually conquer your debt or win ?The Debt Championship? (pardon the cheesy pun).

You don?t worry about your past financial mistakes, and you don?t get hung up imagining what your mortgage-free future might look like. You just focus on the here and now and plug away at your debts one at a time.

You?ll still make mistakes, so don?t expect perfection. But you can expect the unexpected, like a flat tire, a leak in the roof, and maybe an unexpected trip to the hospital. That?s the type of stuff that is sure to make an appearance when you?re working your way out of debt.

Remember, if you?re married, you are part of a team too. And the best way to pay down your debt is through teamwork and agreeing on your goals together.

Just like a great basketball team, stay focused on what?s in front of you. That?s how you win the NCAA Tournament, and that?s how you get out of debt.

While you?re home watching the tournament, don?t pass on this opportunity to get out of debt and take control of your money. Huddle up if you need to. Then order your Financial Peace University Home Study kit today! At this price, it?s a slam dunk!

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Source: http://www.daveramsey.com/article/what-can-march-madness-teach-you-about-getting-out-of-debt/lifeandmoney_debt

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The World's Largest Gold Importer Wants To Slam On The Brakes


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India, the world's largest importer of gold announced today that it is planning on doubling its duty on gold.

India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee revealed India's 2012-2013 budget today, which called for an increase in taxes on gold. This would be the second time this year that India increased its import duty on gold. 

In his speech Mukherjee said the nearly 50 percent increase in gold and other precious metal imports has been one of the primary drivers of the current account deficit.

  • Customs duty on standard gold bars and coins of purity exceeding 99.5 percent will be increased from 2 percent to 4 percent.
  • Customs duty on non-standard gold (gold in unusual forms) will be increased from 5 percent to 10 percent.
  • Basic duty on gold ore, concentrate and dore bars (semi-pre alloy of gold and silver) for refining will be increased from 1 percent to 2 percent.
  • Duty on refined gold is also being doubled from 1.5 percent to 3 percent. 

Last month we reported that India's demand for gold jewelry fell 44 percent in the fourth quarter, impacted by the weak rupee and gold volatility. India imported a record 969 metric tons of gold last year, a number that is sure to fall. It now seems more likely than ever that China will take over India's position as the world's biggest gold market.

Don't Miss: An Inside Look At The Dazzling Gold Market Of India >

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/Hxzr8MuObrQ/india-doubles-gold-import-duty-2012-3

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