Jump to content

Paypal to invest on Theravax RVx


Jesus Chuy

Recommended Posts

PayPal co-founder and Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel’s investment firm plans to make a “multimillion-dollar” investment in Springfield-based Rational Vaccines to expand and speed up overseas testing of the company’s genital herpes vaccines, the company’s CEO says.

“They’re the perfect partner for us,” said Agustin Fernandez III, chief executive officer of Rational Vaccines, the company he started in 2015 with William Halford, a Southern Illinois University School of Medicine researcher.

Halford’s work in his laboratory at the Springfield-based medical school formed the foundation for the work of Rational Vaccines, a privately held company that uses a live but weakened form of the herpes virus to treat one of the world’s most common sexually transmitted infections.

Frustrated by resistance in the U.S. scientific community to a vaccine based on a live “attenuated” virus — even though vaccines for measles, mumps and chickenpox all use attenuated viruses — Halford has said he will prove the effectiveness of his discoveries overseas and hopes that the benefits patients receive there eventually convince the Food and Drug Administration to give Americans access.

Dr. Jason Camm, chief medical officer of Thiel Capital, the San Francisco-based investment firm founded by Thiel, is expected to formally announce the partnership at a news conference Thursday in Springfield.

Camm and others at Thiel Capital didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Halford, 48, a Springfield resident and chief science officer of Rational Vaccines, is dealing with terminal cancer and has been unavailable for comment, SIU officials said.

“The vaccines that Dr. Halford has developed show promise to dramatically improve the health of the public and relieve suffering from herpes infections for millions of people,” Dr. Jerry Kruse, dean and provost of SIU School of Medicine, said in a statement.

“The investment by Thiel Capital is a big step forward in making Dr. Halford’s dream a reality,” Kruse said.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Jesus Chuy said:

PayPal co-founder and Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel’s investment firm plans to make a “multimillion-dollar” investment in Springfield-based Rational Vaccines to expand and speed up overseas testing of the company’s genital herpes vaccines, the company’s CEO says.

“They’re the perfect partner for us,” said Agustin Fernandez III, chief executive officer of Rational Vaccines, the company he started in 2015 with William Halford, a Southern Illinois University School of Medicine researcher.

Halford’s work in his laboratory at the Springfield-based medical school formed the foundation for the work of Rational Vaccines, a privately held company that uses a live but weakened form of the herpes virus to treat one of the world’s most common sexually transmitted infections.

Frustrated by resistance in the U.S. scientific community to a vaccine based on a live “attenuated” virus — even though vaccines for measles, mumps and chickenpox all use attenuated viruses — Halford has said he will prove the effectiveness of his discoveries overseas and hopes that the benefits patients receive there eventually convince the Food and Drug Administration to give Americans access.

Dr. Jason Camm, chief medical officer of Thiel Capital, the San Francisco-based investment firm founded by Thiel, is expected to formally announce the partnership at a news conference Thursday in Springfield.

Camm and others at Thiel Capital didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Halford, 48, a Springfield resident and chief science officer of Rational Vaccines, is dealing with terminal cancer and has been unavailable for comment, SIU officials said.

“The vaccines that Dr. Halford has developed show promise to dramatically improve the health of the public and relieve suffering from herpes infections for millions of people,” Dr. Jerry Kruse, dean and provost of SIU School of Medicine, said in a statement.

“The investment by Thiel Capital is a big step forward in making Dr. Halford’s dream a reality,” Kruse said.

http://www.sj-r.com/news/20170419/paypal-co-founder-expected-to-invest-in-herpes-vaccine-maker-in-springfield

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/20/2017 at 3:13 PM, impugn said:

Now get someone to invest in aurx as well 

The business model for live attenuated therapeutic vaccines does not make sense.  This investment is in RVx (ABVIC, etc. which include 2 patents). Thiel  was also trying to get his guy in charge of the FDA, saying they  shouldn't need to test effectiveness of drugs, only safety and Thiel didn't get his guy nominated by Trump. 

This is no guarantee of anything other than 5-10 million which is probably necessary to move to the next step. 

Mexico laws are such that they need a lab in Mexico to make it. That alone is going to take millions and time to train people. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, fixme1 said:

We'll leave thiel to it, .......Let the big boys......his

I saw your other posts that tried to shame anyone that had questioned Theravax in the past, and now this smug post from you. RVx does not sell anything and make a profit. Simply Thiel giving RVx money simply does not validate Theravax, he is making a bet on RVX. When you put money on the line without return of capital, its now called gambling, not investing.

I'm sure you don't know what group think aka concurrence seeking is, as you do it quite often and its quite annoying.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dude, give it a rest will ya. Why do you care so much? You are smart, we get it. Unfortunately not smart enough to come up with a viable vaccine yourself and have some billionaire investor take a gamble on you. If you are so sure it will fail, then why don't you just take comfort in the fact that you will be inevitably right and sooner or later everybody will see how right you were and how big of suckers we were for getting excited about this vaccine. The negative Halford bashing posts are a broken record at this point...seriously. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, OhFuckMyDickHurts said:

I saw your other posts that tried to shame anyone that had questioned Theravax in the past, and now this smug post from you. RVx does not sell anything and make a profit. Simply Thiel giving RVx money simply does not validate Theravax, he is making a bet on RVX. When you put money on the line without return of capital, its now called gambling, not investing.

I'm sure you don't know what group think aka concurrence seeking is, as you do it quite often and its quite annoying. 

 

I Dont think of it as a gamble. Calculated risk. ABVIC if certified will be a big seller. That equals a capital gain. Theravax didnt work for you and may not work for me but it could work for some. Profovax may work better as a preventative than Theravax as a Therapeutic. That would be huge and worth billions.

It is about marketing and brand development now less about effectiveness of Theravax. So although I agree with some of your science this is business and Billionares know khow to make money and sense a good thing.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This OFMDH is a joke. The guy wants to discourage the efforts of others at all times. Man, if it touches! Nobody here cares more. Many here want theravax, whether you accept it or not. So do not waste your precious time talking nonsense. I have full conviction that it will help millions. This feeling of yours is called envy. My disappointment is only related to the moment of uncertainty in the market, but with regard to the vaccine, I can not wait to try it out. So do not waste your time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, SnowAngel said:

Do you guys think ABVIC will become available in the US eventually? 

Hello Snow, With the $$ investment then yes ABVIC will be out on the market in less than a year I bet. They needed money for certification and now they have it. I bet it will be the first RVx product out. That will give them an even bigger infusion of cash for R&D for the vaccines. Profovax will take longer to put out but I bet it will be FDA approved. Theravax will probable be developed outside of the US. Who know maybe availible in Canada or Mexico first. 

The investment will be a goos thing but it will be disapointing for those who want compassionate sales now. I would bet the ranch thats not gonna happen.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, OhFuckMyDickHurts said:

I saw your other posts that tried to shame anyone that had questioned Theravax in the past, and now this smug post from you. RVx does not sell anything and make a profit. Simply Thiel giving RVx money simply does not validate Theravax, he is making a bet on RVX. When you put money on the line without return of capital, its now called gambling, not investing.

I'm sure you don't know what group think aka concurrence seeking is, as you do it quite often and its quite annoying.

just want a fix for all this mess, all suffering here.. hope is just nice

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Seeker, do you think you'll still have to come off antivirals to test positive through ABVIC? Or with it testing so many proteins will you be able to stay on the antivirals? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm pretty excited about this. Surprised it's not popped off more on here!

Millions of dollars of funding for a potentially successful herpes theraputic vaccine with phase II trial at the end of the year.  Amazing. 

Phase I may not have been perfect results wise. It's really just for saftey. I'm sure the vaccine will have been worked on since then and tweaked? Or am I wrong. 

The money means that an accurate Phase II trial can be done, including shedding rates.  If the results of the 200 in phase II with updated vaccine is good - ie if over 80% see a reduction in shedding of 80% or more... fantastic. 

And we may have availability to this in 2019? Awesome. 

Or am I missing something? 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Itsminor said:

I'm pretty excited about this. Surprised it's not popped off more on here!

Millions of dollars of funding for a potentially successful herpes theraputic vaccine with phase II trial at the end of the year.  Amazing. 

Phase I may not have been perfect results wise. It's really just for saftey. I'm sure the vaccine will have been worked on since then and tweaked? Or am I wrong. 

The money means that an accurate Phase II trial can be done, including shedding rates.  If the results of the 200 in phase II with updated vaccine is good - ie if over 80% see a reduction in shedding of 80% or more... fantastic. 

And we may have availability to this in 2019? Awesome. 

Or am I missing something? 

I love your enthusiasm and optimism! I think people are just skeptical bc RVX has been very quiet lately! Hopefully they will release something soon!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

54 minutes ago, Whyyyyy said:

I love your enthusiasm and optimism! I think people are just skeptical bc RVX has been very quiet lately! Hopefully they will release something soon!

They still intend to follow through with their promise regarding compassionate sales. We just have to be patient a little longer. Please stay positive. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Theblues said:

They still intend to follow through with their promise regarding compassionate sales. We just have to be patient a little longer. Please stay positive. 

Trying to, it's just so hard...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Whyyyyy said:

Trying to, it's just so hard...

Please believe me when I say that I understand just how hard it is to be patient. Because I also live with herpes induced neuropathic pain and have to take pain medication everyday. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, Tjumba said:

@Theblues

What kind of pain medicine do you take ? I allso have neuropathic pain, and it only seems to getting worse :-(

Hey I'm clearly not TheBlues :) but just wanted to say that I take 25mg of Amitriplyn for the pain HSV causes,  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • Donate

    If Honeycomb has helped you, please help us by making a donation so we can provide you with even better features and services.

  • The Hive is Thriving!

    • Total Topics
      71.9k
    • Total Posts
      485.2k
  • Posts

    • CHT
      Hi "Jeremy"..... I agree, the topic of your HSV status does not need to be something you disclose too soon in a developing relationship..... get to know each other first....see how it's going and as it progresses, then the HSV issue will naturally need to be revealed.... it's my personal opinion though that before there is any sexual encounter you ought to disclose your HSV status.... I know some will disagree with me on this but, I think it is morally wrong not to disclose first.  This can be a make/break situation for most people but, again, I feel it is simply wrong not to give the other person the whole story since your decision not to disclose could put their health at risk.... that is simply not an option in my opinion.  Looking back to my "pre-HSV" life I most certainly would want my partner to disclose their HSV+ status before intimacy so that I could make my decision as to whether I want to take that risk or not.... 
    • Jeremy Spokein
      Thanks, CHT. I appreciate the feedback. The whole trauma of going through this has led me to figure out a lot about myself and my attachment wounds, so I'm taking courses to come out of this better. This girl really was my dream woman in so many ways, it's been the hardest heartbreak to deal with ever. I'm truly in a lot of pain, but using the pain as fuel to launch that new business and work with coaches. I also opened up to my family about HSV, so my parents and sister know now, and they were very loving and accepting of it. Since opening up about it, I feel way better around this thing. After opening up, I also found out that some mutual friends in our family have discordant couples who are married with children, so HSV hasn't stopped them from living a loving life. The thing is... all of these couples I mention did not disclose until 6-8 months into the relationship. So now I'm thinking it might be better not to disclose until I know things are very serious. I'll of course stay on the medication and use protection, but maybe this is a better route than disclosing upfront and scaring women off.
    • WilsoInAus
      Hey @Lcj987 and welcome to the website. You can be sure that isn't HSV-2, looks nothing like it. It is much more likely to be folliculitis or inflamed fordyce spots.
    • WilsoInAus
      Hey @JackThrowAway herpes causes an outbreak where it enters the body first and maybe a progressive spread. If it doesn't cause an outbreak at the entry site then it won't cause one elsewhere, it also won't 'jump' upon infection - it would be more likely that the lesions are continuous from the penis to the anus. Nevertheless, testing trumps symptoms or any interpretation of symptoms. The correct conclusive result arises when: you have a positive swab; or An IgG HSV-2 level over 3.5 (Herpeselect test).
    • Lcj987
      Slept with someone unprotected, roughly 2 weeks ago now. I felt generally unwell the couple of days after but I’d been drinking the whole weekend and didn’t have much sleep either of the days of that weekend so put it down to that. 6 days after I noticed these spots appear on the shaft of my penis. Along with symptoms of discomfort in my shaft in the couple of days prior to them appearing. No pain when urinating at all that I have noticed. They don’t hurt, itch or tingle and they don’t have fluid in from what I can see or feel if I squeeze them and have never burst? I went to a sexual health clinic to get checked up, they took bloods to do a full test and looked at the spots but said they saw nothing that concerned them but I’m not sure about that, any advice? The smaller spots under the shaft are just follicles I had diagnosed years ago and non-sti related.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.