Ok, so where's the productization? Where's the startup?
Surely this product/service already exists in some form or other, somewhere
One angle is the use of parasites to treat autoimmune diseases. It wasn't mentioned in the article, but hookworms are being studied for their ability to secrete a wide range of immune-modulating molecules. Companies are trying to determine which molecules are especially useful, and in what combination, so they can synthesize them and sell them.
But, you can get their beneficial effect right now, which is very appealing to people with major autoimmune diseases. Some companies are selling parasite eggs by mail to people who otherwise can't get them. I have MS, I take them.
It's not a lucrative business, and there are a lot of regulatory hurdles, but the treatment is quite safe.
Most people are disgusted by the idea of infecting their self with parasites. The reality is that humans evolved with parasites constantly inside of their bodies. It's only in the last 100 years that widespread anti-parasitic medication has wiped them out.
That did a lot of good for society in general, but we took it too far, essentially, by wiping out parasites entirely. There are a lot of benign "parasites", which should be thought of as symbiotes.
The way that big pharma is dealing with this is as mentioned above: they're trying to synthesize the right stew of immune-modulating chemicals to deal with this. But the immediate solution is to educate people, and sell them clean, safe parasites (or their eggs).
It's also nice if they live a long time in their host, and don't reproduce inside of the host. This is why Necator Americanus is mostly used; it fits all of these characteristics.
Anyway, it's interesting to hear about the hookworms and your direct experience with them. I'd be curious to hear more about your experience with that therapy, if you are willing/interested to share it.
Basically, I wonder in what circumstances would you recommend that therapy to others who have an autoimmune condition? (e.g. for all cases, just some cases, cases that did not respond to drugs, diet, etc.) Is it a first resort, or a last resort or something in the middle, etc. ?
Again, thanks.
Coronado Biosciences was running clinical trials using pig whipworm ova to see if it had an impact on inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's and ulcerative colitis). Turns out there was no observable effect.
When I was a small child and caught chickenpox several of my friends were brought round to play so they could 'safely' catch it as children, rather than waiting to catch the altogether nastier grown-up version later in life.
I suspect my mother didn't charge for the product/service , although that may be because she couldn't get a node.js stack up and running.
Also it was in 1983.
It is unfortunate that children are now commonly vaccinated against chickenpox. This is a weakling virus that barely kills anyone, and more good could be done by figuring out factors that help children have a mild case.