Cross-posted from
What can wine tell us about the world? Plenty, it turns out. It is one of civilization's oldest products. At one time it was a necessity, when food was served rotten and water was where you washed and evacuated. Now it is enjoying a resurgence. It is an agricultural product, and a unique one. You see, vineyards have kept records of temperature, yield, and ripeness-dates for centuries, giving us incredibly precise records that tell us reams about the global environment. It is also a luxury item, particularly at the top end. As such, its sale and purchase can tell us volumes about the global economy.
Today we look at nature, Big Pharma, and orphan drugs.
Have you ever heard of the French Paradox? According to Wiki:
The French paradox refers to the observation that the French suffer a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease, despite having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats.[1] The phenomenon was first noted by Irish physician Samuel Black in 1819.
Some say it exists. Some say it does not, but instead that French cardiovascular disease is simply under-reported. One thing that came from the concept, however, was discovery of the medicinal properties of Resveratrol. Resveratrol, again according to Wiki, is
a phytoalexin produced naturally by several plants when under attack by pathogens such as bacteria or fungi.
Its most common natural source is the skin of grapes, and particularly in wine. Depending upon the wine, and its parent grape, resveratrol content can range from 0.4 to 40 mg/L. The biggest commercial source for resveratrol as a dietary supplement is japanese knotweed, with as much as 187 mg/kg in the dried root.
Interest in resveratrol really took off with a study that showed yeast lived longer when treated with the stuff. That was followed with a study showing increased life span in houseflies and nematodes. The study was successfully reproduced on nematodes, but not on houseflies.
Intake of resveratrol through wine has been studied, and shown significant promise, in mice. The downside? You would have to drink 100 to 1000 bottles a day to get that sort of dosing. With the cost of the Euro these days, and the price of even a decent Bordeaux '05 going for $50 or more, that is probably not realistic for most people. /snark.
Resveratrol is starting to look like a miracle drug. Not only will it help you live longer, it will keep you from gaining weight, inhibit growth of cancer cells, inhibit platelet growth and artherosclerosis, and even enhance the effect of antiretroviral drugs.
And that is where it gets interesting.
Have you heard of Orphan Drugs? An Orphan Drug
is any drug developed under the Orphan Drug Act of January 1983 ("ODA"), a federal law concerning rare diseases ("orphan diseases"), defined as diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the United States or low prevalence is taken as prevalence of less than 5 per 10,000 in the community.
Orphan drugs are developed with government subsidies, through tax breaks, research, and extended patents. The whole idea of orphan drugs is to encourage development of drugs which would otherwise not have a market, due to the small number of people suffering a disease.
Let me tell you a quick story about one little orphan drug, Epogen. Epogen, you see, was developed as an orphan drug to treat anemia in patients with kidney failure. Amgen developed the drug through government subsidies because demand would be so low. Right? Well, not really. The bad new for Amgen, you see, is that Epogen sales went down the first quarter of '08, to a mere $554 million from $625 million in the first quarter the year before. Epogen, you see, has for a decade now been the treatment of choice for anemia as a result of chemotheraphy. Thank you, United States taxpayers, for subsidizing our single bigget profit maker. Love, Amgen.
Which brings us back to the news, and resveratrol.
Sirtis Pharmaceuticals, a small Cambridge biotech firm, developed a drug from resveratrol, a drug that held huge promise for anti-aging, athletic performance, weight loss, antiretroviral treatment, heck, everything. 'Hey man,' you might ask, 'if it treats everything why are you talking about orphan drugs?' Excellent question. The answer, of course, is why pay to develop something when the taxpayers will do it for you.
On April 1, 2008 (and no, it was not an April Fool's joke, though it should have been), the FDA granted Sirtis orphan drugs status for Resveratrol, for the treatment of MELAS Syndrome.
MELAS syndrome -- or mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes -- is a fatal disease that comes from a DNA mutation that causes mitochondria, which energize cells, to malfunction.
It's unknown exactly how many Americans have the rare disease, but Sirtris believes the number of U.S. patients with MELAS is fewer than 20,000.
Okay, that's not the punch line. Here is the set-up:
With 57 employees, the biotech firm reported a 2007 net loss of $31.1 million and no revenue.
And NOW for the punch line:
Glaxo to Buy Sirtris, Maker of Red Wine-Based Drug
GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Europe's biggest drugmaker, agreed to buy Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc. for about $720 million, adding an experimental treatment derived from red wine that's thought to slow the effects of aging.
Resveratrol, a well-studied natural ingredient of red wine, and a natural compound that has shown promise in almost every field of medicine, has been granted orphan drug status and will be developed at the expense of the American taxpayer. Further, it will be granted an extra-long patent life, guaranteeing that it will cost four or five figures for every single use, including the dozens of off-label use that will most certainly overshadow MELAS Syndrome use the second it hits the shelves.
All this, from something that is found naturally in grape skins.
It's time for me to go. I have to get an early start if I'm going to drink 100 bottles of wine a day. New York Pinot Noirs seem to have the highest resveratrol content, so here is a review to get you started:
Excellent Burgundian nose, cherries, truffle and other mushroom notes. Mellow and restrained but not weak. Silky smooth on the palate with long earthy and pleasant finish. Could have easily confused this New Yorker with Burgundy. Loved this bottle. Beautifully crafted. 90 points.
The '04 is available at Heron Hill Vineyards for $24.99 a bottle.