Ella Does Squamish

Some people who know me know that I follow stocks and the stock market. 

For the last three years I have been following the biotechnology (and gambling) stocks in particular.  The two biotech stocks that I have been following closely are Elan (an Irish biotechnology company) and more recently Dendreon, a US biotech that has its hdq in the US.  While these stocks may not seem to have that much in common, I think they both herald a paradigm shift in treating so far intractable conditions such as MS., Alzhiemer’s Disease (Elan) and prostate cancer (Dendreon). 

The FDA verdict about a new vaccine approach to treating prostate cancer (DNDN) is going to occur on or close to May 15th.  Elan’s tysabri medication is receiving very good patient reviews - either it has a very good effect or it prevents MS relapses.  If the DNDN vaccine, which is really an immunological approach to cancer, is approved on May 15th, this paves the way for ELN and Wyeth’s collaboration on an immunological approach to treating Alzhiemer’s Disease - in Phase II studies now. 

This new immunological approach to treating formerly chronic physical conditions with no possible cure is very postive in my mind, a huge scientific advance that offers hope to individuals and families who are affected by these conditions. 

As someone following the saga of DNDN and the likely approval of their Provenge treatment for terminal prostate cancer, I wait with baited breath.  Having this treatment available will mean so much to prostate cancer patients - the efficacy is as good (in small studies) as chemotherapy without the negative side effects.  Quality of life is so important. 

Just to say that I think this immunological approach holds lots of promise for many conditions and I can’t wait to see how it unfolds (and this is a highly politicized medical issue as many traditional medical practitioners will lose power and income as a result of this paradigm shift and such a transition is never easy).  But my educated guess is that Provenge will be approved by the FDA either before or on May 15th and this approval will signal an acceptance of new immunological approaches.  Exciting.  I will report back on the 15th of May or when Provenge is either approved or not by the FDA.

I went to transfer my car insurance from Ontario to BC today.  My car insurance will cost more than double than what I paid in Ontario and if you do monthly payments there is a $15. administrative charge to set this up and then another 5% charge for the length of time one purchases insurance for.  I just purchased the most basic liability coverage which is now for $2 million (and there was a suggestion that I purchase liability insurance for $5 million). 

And then I was handed the two new BC license plates and told to bring back my Ontario plates.  Thoughtfully, the person at ICBC gave me a wrench and a screwdriver to pry my old plates off (not!)  Those plates are rusted on - they have been on there through 10 Ontario winters.  I went and bought some ‘liquid wrench’ but it hasn’t helped much, except I now smell like liquid wrench.  R. and I got out every tool we had after dinner and he managed to get the back plate off but only by breaking the screw that held the nut.  Before things got any worse, like me taking a hammer to the bloody plates, I decided that perhaps I should just go to a garage tomorrow and let them deal with it.  What a nightmare!