Why the big drop?, page-19

I agree with you and your last sentence nails the zeitgeist. Given a choice, I think most patients will go with a MSC product because of the perception that it's not a drug.

I find it hard to believe there are still those who say MSCs don't work. I don't have a science background but Hare et al have published in very high impact journals such as PNAS and JACC. I wonder if there are those who (even in medicine) don't understand science at a cellular level.

My daughter does. She repeatedly says that it all depends on the lines. We've had to run a marathon to prove our lines are effective and, most importantly, safe. That's fair enough, but other companies will have to do the same for their lines. I'm not worried about the competition as we're ahead in our trials and have a good safety record so far.

MSB will either be massive or a zero. I don't think it's going to be a zero because I'm seeing a perfect storm: there's a buzz around MSCs in very high impact journals; The 21st Century Cures Act; Texas stem cell bill; FDA fast tracking. Crucially (to me) the mainstream media (whose job is imo not to inform us but create consensus) is preparing the general public. People no longer think there's something dodgy about stem cells ( except for some who claim so on this forum but their writing lacks authenticity to me.)

There's been a lot of cynicism churning away for a long time. Mitchell and Webb are good at tapping into the zeitgeist. Check out their sketch 'Hammers' on Youtube. A decade ago, pharma's drugs were pitted against alternative 'Disallowed' therapies. Now it's starting to look like the other way round. Fecal transplant has been a grass roots movement (no pun intended). Patients are a lot more informed and proactive now. Many doctors do listen to them and try to give a choice where possible.

I've been at the rock face with four different autoimmune diseases in my family for a decade. If you think they can't get any worse, they will. If you think they've finally gone away and it's all blue sky now, they'll be back, often more vicious than before. That's why the stock market doesn't scare me.

I'm NOT advocating avoiding standard drugs because in some cases it's not even an either or, and in most cases, the risk is far greater from the disease than the drugs. The situation, however, is still unacceptable for very many patients.

I do believe this time it's different because I've seen a recent paradigm shift. Medicine has become more of a consumer driven market. Pharma are under pressure because patents are running out (emerging biosimilars) and they must surely be aware of negative public perception. It's hammers but it's hammers that often don't even work.

All imo Good luck to all holders