Friday was a very productive and informative day followed by a fun and
relaxing evening.
The conference is set up so that there about 6 comcurrent sessions
going on with short breaks between each. Each session lasts from 45 to
75 minutes. Hopefully during each time slot you can find something
that you are interested in. We learned quite a bit today. One session
talked about bringing new drugs to market from the perspective of a
drug company and the issues they have. The speaker was VP of a
company that has been in business 15 years, has about 700 employees
and still does not have a single drug approved. But they are very
close to one that helps medullary thyroid cancer. Can you imagine? 15
years of spending money (about $1 billion by his estimate) and not
having a single dollar of incoming sales? Talk about having to sweet
talk your imvestors!
We also attended 2 sessions dealing with targeted therapies, like the
Nexavar I am on now. It seems like these are finding a lot of success
in slowing the progression or even shrinking tumors but they are not a
cure. Because they are not acheivimg cure there is doubt that the FDA
will approve them for for thyroid cancer use. They want cures - not
temporary stopgaps. One doctor compared them to a roadblock, they do a
good job of stopping traffic for a while but eventually traffic finds
a way around the block. So in a year or 2 I will probably be looking
for a new "roadblock".
After we were meetinged out Charley picked us up and we has dinner
with he and Kathy at their home. We could not have asked for a better
evening! The food was as delicious as any I have eaten and the
companionship was even better. The night flew by and before we knew it
we were back at the hotel, very tired and very content.
Saturday should have more great information and then the annual
fundraising dinner is tonight.
Talk to you again soon.
Be Well - Be Blessed
Sent via mobile phone
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