About Mark M.p.h.
In a September 2020 interview, Mark M.p.h., Executive Vice President & Chief Medical Officer at Vir Biotechnology, discussed the company's focus on infectious diseases. He stated that "the pharma industry has reduced its emphasis on infectious diseases; there's a huge need for better drugs and that's why Vir exists." He noted that the company is concentrating on hepatitis B, flu, HIV, and tuberculosis, adding that "many of the patients are not yet diagnosed."
M.p.h. also commented on the business dynamics of developing cures for viral diseases. He referenced Gilead's experience with hepatitis C, saying it was "dramatically rewarded by the market and then dramatically punished when they couldn't come up with the next cure." He expressed a view that a potential cure for hepatitis B would differ, stating, "I think hepatitis B will be different from hepatitis C... I don't think it's going to be a hepatitis C kinetics where you have a huge market and you cure everybody in a couple years and then the market falls off; it would be much more slowly."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Mark M.p.h.'s recent appearances.
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Transcript (4 segments)
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Interviewer0:00
Hey Tyler, well viruses of course are an incredibly important public health need, but it's not an area that Big Pharma invests a lot of money in. We talked with George about why they're focused on it.
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Mark M.p.h.0:13
That point is exactly what we're doing. Because the pharma industry has reduced its emphasis on infectious diseases, there's a huge need for better drugs, and that's why Vir exists. But guys, if you look elsewhere in the market, like for example Gilead, which developed a cure for hepatitis C, it was dramatically rewarded by the market and then dramatically punished when they couldn't come up with the next cure.
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Interviewer0:36
We asked him about the business models in treating viruses.
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Mark M.p.h.0:39
I think hepatitis B will be different from hepatitis C. If we hope to find a cure, and if we do, I don't think it's going to be a hepatitis C kinetics where you have a huge market and you cure everybody in a couple years and then the market falls off. It would be much more slowly. Many of the patients are not yet diagnosed. So hepatitis B, flu, HIV, tuberculosis, these are the things that Vir is focused on.
