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The Bria Fund funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into FIPS research, only to face this strange resistance from Gilead. If anyone has any idea why the successful use of a precursor drug to treat cats would bias the FDA against approving the human form, I'd be interested to know. GS-441542 is described as a systemic metabolite of remdesivir in humans, so in my mind, safe successful use in cats would be a plus, not a negative.
"Every day, Gingrich said, she thinks, "What can I do to end FIP today?" Fifteen years after Bria's death, "It's still my main goal in life," she said.
A political activist in Tennessee, Gingrich founded the Bria Fund in 2005, with a donation from her brother, Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Working through the Winn Feline Foundation, a 50-year-old not-for-profit dedicated to improving feline health through research and education, the Bria Fund began in 2008 to support research into FIP. That research includes efforts to prevent transmission and to develop a diagnostic blood test, vaccine and treatments, including GS-441524 and GC376. These antiviral therapies interrupt the virus's ability to replicate, and in clinical trials have reversed FIP in some cats."
UC Davis researcher:
"We were hopeful that our collaboration with Gilead Sciences would ultimately lead to an FDA approved, commercially available antiviral drug treatment for the many thousands of cats from around the world that are dying from FIP each year. We felt that our results from laboratory and field supported this outcome. Unfortunately, Gilead’s directors concluded at the last minute that something about GS-441524’s use in cats would endanger their ability to get FDA approval for a closely related drug called Remdesivir for humans. Although we strongly pleaded our case for the use of GS-441524 in veterinary medicine, their decision has remained firm."
"Every day, Gingrich said, she thinks, "What can I do to end FIP today?" Fifteen years after Bria's death, "It's still my main goal in life," she said.
A political activist in Tennessee, Gingrich founded the Bria Fund in 2005, with a donation from her brother, Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Working through the Winn Feline Foundation, a 50-year-old not-for-profit dedicated to improving feline health through research and education, the Bria Fund began in 2008 to support research into FIP. That research includes efforts to prevent transmission and to develop a diagnostic blood test, vaccine and treatments, including GS-441524 and GC376. These antiviral therapies interrupt the virus's ability to replicate, and in clinical trials have reversed FIP in some cats."
UC Davis researcher:
"We were hopeful that our collaboration with Gilead Sciences would ultimately lead to an FDA approved, commercially available antiviral drug treatment for the many thousands of cats from around the world that are dying from FIP each year. We felt that our results from laboratory and field supported this outcome. Unfortunately, Gilead’s directors concluded at the last minute that something about GS-441524’s use in cats would endanger their ability to get FDA approval for a closely related drug called Remdesivir for humans. Although we strongly pleaded our case for the use of GS-441524 in veterinary medicine, their decision has remained firm."
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