Bye Bye Mundipharma, page-23

Hi Teddy

I re-read my post you are referring to. I realise I mis-spelt Astrazeneca several times!

Like others, I am very disappointed that the share price is in the toilet. But this situation is not unfamiliar to me, having invested in bio-tech for some time. It is part of the territory. I have been topping up and averaging down my buy-in price (around $1 now).

Regarding Viraleze, nothing has happened to change my view since then, except that my impression that Viraleze is shaping up to be the better (or best) of the nasal sprays available/under development was subsequently bolstered / reinforced by the omicron testing announcement, which stated that Viraleze clearly outperformed Nitric oxide, heparin and iotacarrageenan sprays (70x more potent than heparin and 30x more potent than carageenen).

So, with such superior efficacy likely, the epistaxis issue is possibly a moot point anyway.

I looked into heparin and I agree with you that it shouldn't, theoretically, increase epistaxis as it is poorly absorbed across an intact epithelium or mucous membrane. That may not necessarily be the case in the case of an inflamed mucous membrane (current viral or bacterial infection) or a damaged mucous membrane (such as in a nose-picker, dried out, already prone to blood noses with a partially healed sore/scab present).

My text that you quoted missed out part of my overall comment regarding epistaxis, that 'Even if the increase in epistaxis amongst users of these sprays is not that high, I think it could adversely affect their brand, as people will surely make the same links regarding cause/effect and complain' (I should have said - or likely choose not to use those sprays when there is an alternative without that concern related to it).

What I meant by that comment is that, even if it turns out that there is not much (or any) of a true effect that heparin (or nitric oxide) can increase the risk of epistaxis, I wonder how many people who are troubled with epistaxis would choose to try those sprays once they found out heparin is an anticoagulant and NO causes vasodilation? If they had a blood nose when using it, would they not 'join the dots' and attribute the blame to the spray, even if it was not the cause? I talk to patients a lot about suspected side effects to medications and generally, if a side effect is listed as even a remote possibility, they can be very cautious and quick to attribute fault if a possible side effect occurs. For this reason, I suspect people who are prone to epistaxis are not going to be keen on trying sprays containing those two ingredients. Not when there is an alternative, especially one that has shown superior efficacy.

Regarding the DEP program, nothing has happened to change my view. I am, of course, tired of waiting for some news but confident it will eventually come.

Regards

Gumnut