Yes, it's small, but hopefully enough to at least show a trend one way or the other. And if this small a sample means it can get under way quickly, I think it's worth a shot. The results might nudge interest in a larger study at the very least. LOL, I can see a huge black market in cobra-venom drugs for cat owners in the rest of the company. That's OK, Florida is really good at black-market stuff. ;-) Diane R.
________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kelley Saveika Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 9:55 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: Is Cheesecake On The Horizan?! I would eat cheesecake even if it weren't true...sure hope it is tho....just remember than 18-30 cats is a really small sample size... On 3/18/08, Belinda Sauro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Just received this from www.10thlife.org <http://www.10thlife.org/> newsletter, dare we hope??? Pilot Study Will Help Determine If New Cobra-Venom Drug Cures Feline Leukemia For more than a year we've been waiting for the federal government to approve a license application to use a new cobra-venom based drug in a large placebo controlled double blind research study that will scientifically determine if the new drug cures feline leukemia (FeLV). The manufacturer has already received approval from the State of Florida to proceed, but - if the drug cures the disease - sales would be limited to Florida veterinarians and Florida cat owners. Federal approval would allow sales anywhere. Because of the federal delay, Dr. Julie Levy of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine suggested we conduct a smaller 18-30 cat, four month, placebo controlled double blind "pilot study" using the Florida license. The pilot study will follow the same procedures and be conducted in the same manner as a larger follow-up study using 100+ FeLV positive cats. The larger study will be conducted if the pilot study shows good results. Good results from the pilot study could expedite federal approval for a larger study - which Dr. Levy would supervise. The larger 100+ cat study will prove conclusively that the drug cures, or does not cure, FeLV. The drug's manufacturer will supply the drug to us for both studies (at no charge) and will supervise the pilot study (with the results forwarded to Dr. Levy). No harm will come to the cats. The drug is safe and there are no known side effects. For the last two weeks I've been looking for a location to conduct the pilot study (we can't do it at the sanctuary). Once we find a place, I can put a final budget together. We will need to raise money for the pilot study and if we proceed to the bigger study, we'll have to raise money for that, too. Donors to either study will receive a tax deduction. If the drug does cure FeLV, 10th Life will receive a royalty on each sale of the drug because (1) we are raising the necessary research funds (the manufacturer's research budget is for human - not animal - trials), and (2) we will be supplying the FeLV+ cats. We will probably need more FeLV+ cats. In a few days I'll know if we need more FeLV+ cats and will ask you, then, if you have, or know someone who has, FeLV+ cats that could participate in the pilot study. Most FeLV+ cats are routinely put down by their owners... this research is necessary because, if the drug cures FeLV, many lives will be saved. In the meantime, please continue to support us with a donation... I spend most of my time raising operating funds and now that I'm spending a lot of time trying to get this study underway, I am not out there raising operating funds. Please, we need every donation to continue providing for our 1,200+ sanctuary cats and for these potentially life saving studies. All donations are tax deductible. -- Belinda happiness is being owned by cats ... Be-Mi-Kitties http://www.bemikitties.com <http://www.bemikitties.com/> HostDesign4U.com [affordable hosting & web design] http://www.hostdesign4u.com <http://www.hostdesign4u.com/> ForYouByUs.com [custom printing] http://www.foryoubyus.com <http://www.foryoubyus.com/> -- Rescuties - Saving the world, one cat at a time. http://www.rescuties.org Vist the Rescuties store and save a kitty life! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home?tag=rescuties-20 Check out our Memsaic! http://www.memsaic.com/app/launch.cfm?sid=08D2CAB2A6E9 http://www.zazzle.com/rescuties* Please help Clarissa! http://rescuties.chipin.com/clarissasheart http://www.change.org/rescuties This electronic mail transmission and any attachments are confidential and may be privileged. They should be read or retained only by the intended recipient. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the transmission from your system. In addition, in order to comply with Treasury Circular 230, we are required to inform you that unless we have specifically stated to the contrary in writing, any advice we provide in this email or any attachment concerning federal tax issues or submissions is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, to avoid federal tax penalties.
