PSO 2010 Conference Update

PSO 2010 Update

We had an excellent conference, collecting contact details from 218 physicians who were interested in our product. To sum it up, the attendees from a big pharma competitor stationed across from us were so impressed by our traffic that they approached us after the conference and wanted to find out more about who we were and what our product was. It may be a a double-edged sword, but the competiton is already taking notice!

Truly, though, it is clear that what we have (an oral TNFa inhibitor) is really a holy-grail type product for this condition. Of course, we aren't going to wait passively for the physician community to accept our results. We are going to push our message to all the relevant constituencies, including thought-leader physicians, patient advocates and natural health proponents.

A couple of key highlights we took away:

-the biologics have serious side effects, and they are not seen as a final answer by any stretch

-emerging markets should be an early opportunity as they simply can't afford biologics

-Germany is very favorable to herbals; we already have 3 department heads who want to do pilot studies in Germany

-clear, concise scientific explanation should convince early adopter physicians and sophisticated patients that this Tinefcon is worth trying

Tinefcon Team at San Francisco Walk for a Cure

The Tinefcon team sponsored the Walk to Cure Psoriasis in San Francisco on June 26. About 400 volunteers and supporters participated on what was one of the most beautiful days I can remember in the city by the bay.

We donated $2,500 plus t-shirts and free supplies of tinefcon for the raffle. Six members of our team also participated in the 6k walk.

In addition to meeting many interesting people and enjoying the good weather, the Walk was a positive experience otherwise: we learned a lot about our potential customers.

I spoke with one volunteer who told me he had lost a lung due to a fungal infection brought on by use of a biologic treatment. Scary! I met another women whose insurance company was reducing her benefits towards Enbrel, meaning she could no longer afford treatment. And we met several people who told us their doctors would not prescribe them biologics for fear of the side effects.

Everyone was intrigued by the potential of Tinefcon, and we gave out a couple of three month trial samples to some lucky raffle winners. This is the first of many events we expect to host with the National Psoriasis Foundation, so keep checking our website to find out when we will next be near to you.

Tinefcon an Option for Millions with Psoriasis

I was listening to a presentation by a physician funded by the Big Pharma companies a few days ago, and he was talking about how only about 10% of people with psoriasis in the US were getting the latest biologic treatments. He was encouraging people to find out if they too could be on these medications.

These injections are so strong that only about 1 in 6 psoriasis sufferers are even considered potential candidates for their use. I wondered if this physician had even considered that there were quite a few explanations besides the ingorance of consumers for the low adoption of these medications. Firstly, a lot of people I know with psoriasis, while wanting desperately to get rid of their symptoms, are still very concerned about the side effects (known and unknown) of these powerful treatments. An increasing number of people are questioning what the long term effects on their bodies will be of taking the host of medications proffered by the pharma industry.

Secondly, I wondered if he had ever stopped to think what the $20,000/year bill for many of the biologics would do to the average family budget (meaning $300-$500/month co-pays).

There are a lot of reason why people are seeking a better option. And we think we have exactly that in Tinefcon.

Children with Psoriasis

I received a really heart-rending letter from a mother today. She was describing the suffering of not only her husband, whose whole family has psoriasis, but now also her son. The difficulties he was encountering in school, and on the sports field in particular, were really terrible.

She told of how her son was a really good athlete, and that playing sports was the one thing that seemed to make him forget about his psoriasis. Unfortunately, it seems he is also developing psoriatic arthritis, and its starting to affect his ability to participate in the games he loves.

She was reaching out hoping that Tinefcon could be the answer. He had been to the doctors, but they had thus far only been willing to prescribe creams and a short course of steroids.

Stories like this one convince me the difficulties we encounter every day are worth it. This boy was old enough (15) that he could safely take Tinefcon, but young enough that they didn't want him on more toxic medications. I hope we can be the answer for the millions of people who, for whatever reasons, be they financial, geographical, medical or otherwise, don't have a good way to address their psoriasis.

Developing a PR Strategy for Psoriasis Treatment

I was in NY today meeting with a specialist healthcare PR firm. They made a lot of good points, but it is somewhat scary how much its going to cost to follow their advice. I started this blog so people could understand how difficult it is to launch a new supplement product--you have to differentiate yourself from all the false products out there.

Well, the best way to do this is to get what the PR guys call "KOLs", key opinion leaders, to accept your story. This is done by spending time and money to convince them in the hope that they will repeat your message. This makes a lot of sense, as it gives people a trusted source opinion on your product.

I will be spending a lot of time over the coming months contacting the KOLs in the psoriasis world, and trying to communicate the Tinefcon message--safe, long term and effective option for psoriasis sufferers, and a new weapon in the arsenal of dermatologists.

Tinefcon - A New Type of Herbal Product

I had a really great call with some guys who work with the largest pharmacy in the UK (Boots). (For those of you in the US or other places who haven't heard, Boots is by far the largest pharmacy company in the UK, kind of like if RiteAid, CVS and Walmart were all rolled into one. It's that dominant.)

We were having preliminary conversations about whether our new herbal psoriasis treatment would be right for them to include in their product selection. Due to new regulations in the EU, after April 2011 all herbal products in the UK and Europe have to be registered with the local version of the FDA. That means that virtually all the products currently available, won't be available in about 9 months.

So, the pharmacies are understandably concerned as to what happens to that portion of the business. The new EU guidelines are an attempt to ensure consumers' safety and bring some order to what has been a "buyer beware" situation in the supplement market (it remains that way in the US, with no reform on the horizon).

They were incredibly excited by Tinefcon. It is the only herbal psoriasis treatment that has any chance of registering under the new rules--we have real, pharmaceutical-grade science behind our product. We have shown, in an rigorous scientific environment, that our product works for psoriasis patients. Not only that, we even have advantages over the prescription medications on both being an oral product and fewer side effects.

One of the guys on the phone said "Wow, this is really going to change the dietary supplement market. It is totally new--an herbal product that really works!" I was so glad to hear him say that, it made my whole day. Finally, someone who got it!

Drug Companies Taking an Interest in Tinefcon

I had a really interesting meeting today with a company which would like to buy the rights to Tinefcon. Interesting because they are the third company in the last month that has contacted us about purchasing our company's herbal psoriasis remedy. Exiciting because Tinefcon is clearly an exceptional product--an herbal supplement that has real, demonstrated clinical efficacy. .

On the one hand, we are flattered that so many companies think our product is great. On the other, I remain frustrated at the difficulty in getting across our message of a new, non-toxic psoriasis treatment. We are sponsoring the San Francisco Walk for a Cure event held by the National Psoriasis Foundation on June 26. That will be our first public event since we presented at the American Academy of Dermatology and I am hopeful that it will be effective in raising our profile. I am also hoping that my presence amongst potential customers will go some way towards alleviating all the skepticism we have encountered thus far.