thanks for the url--this is the article published last year that pulls
together all the research so far on the product, which as you will see has
been around for quite awhile. it's very nice to have all the info in one
place, as what imulan itself puts out doesn't always include the early data.
the problem with it is that the trials mentioned, none ongoing, consisted of
statistically significant sample sizes. there just weren't enough critters
in the trials to draw conclusions from. which is perhaps why they did NOT
submit an application for approval from the FDA, nor receive an
unconditional approval from the USDA, merely a conditional one--which means
that the product (called a treatment aid, not a drug, or even a treatment,
in their own literature) shows PROMISE.
good, well-meaning folks have been working on this for a long time, and i
think that there probably IS promise for this or a refined version of it. i
am incredibly offended, however, by the marketing and business practices of
imulan who went in and took everyone else's hard work, claimed it as their
own, ended clinical trials and put it on the market at a price that made it
impossible for many who'd been in the trials to continue using it. they are
marketing it all over as a CURE for FIV and FeLV, and there is absolutely no
indication at this point that it is that. they claim that they are doing
ongoing trials, but what they are doing are four-week-long science projects
that wouldn't match anyone's definition of research.
if their product is the cure, they don't need to hide behind the games
they've been playing--they should be doing real research, on large,
statistically significant numbers of cats, working with sanctuaries and vets
who have a large population of FIV/FeLV residents/clients, to PROVE it.
while i'm sure that some vets are indeed working with them, i know of many
who have taken one look at their clinical trial protocol, and just
laughed. similarly, the sanctuary where i worked refused to take part
because it was clearly of no scientific use.
it just smells to me. having held the paws of at least one hundred FeLVs as
they finished their jobs on this earth, i very much want there to be a cure
found--i just don't believe, with the evidence at hand, that this is it. and
it hisses me off to see companies appealing to people's deepest fears to
make their own bottom line's look good.
as ever,
humbly,
MC
--
Spay Neuter Your Neighbors!
Maybe That'll Make The Difference
MaryChristine
Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org)
Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team)
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