This man discovered a "kill switch" for viruses, but can't get any funding for it

[The Tradition]

Four years ago, Todd Rider was on top of the world. The MIT-trained bioengineer had developed a radical idea for killing viruses. Initial test results showed that his therapy, called DRACO, could kill every virus he threw it at: 15 viruses were killed in human cells, and two in mice.

It seemed like there was a chance it could be the biggest discovery in medicine since the invention of antibiotics. Glowing headlines praised the potentially world-changing panacea. "Todd Rider Has a Kill Switch for Viruses," wrote Bloomberg BusinessWeek. The Verge: "Killing sickness: is DRACO a doomsday device for viruses?" Time magazine declared it one of the top 50 inventions of the year.

Yet over the next few years, things started going wrong. Rider moved from lab to lab and says he couldn't raise the money to continue testing DRACO, despite, he claims, the continued promise of the concept.

After working on his invention for 16 years, he's found himself in what he calls "the funding valley of death," too far along to get money from those who supported his preliminary studies and too far from market to get Big Pharma's backing.

With DRACO on the brink of becoming one of many potentially — potentially! — transformative breakthroughs that never pass the "good idea" phase, Rider has turned to the internet for help.

He launched an Indiegogo campaign on October 13 to raise $100,000, enough to restart his work, though just a fraction of what he truly needs. But after two months, he was only halfway there, so the campaign was recently extended.

It's impossible to know at this early stage if DRACO can do everything that Rider hopes it will — whether it will really be able to seek and destroy a wide variety of viruses inside a sick person.

And now we may never find out.

Here's the story of Todd Rider's journey to try to create a true cure-all for the often deadly viruses that pose an enormous, ongoing threat to millions of lives.

http://www.techinsider.io/todd-rider-draco-crowdfunding-broad-spectrum-antiviral-2015-12

 

[bagdropper]

I doubt Big Pharma is going to fund the elimination of one of their cash cows. They need viruses, and lots of them.

Think of it as the 100 mpg carburator we always heard about in the 70's and 80's, except for real.

 

[Joes Place]

I doubt Big Pharma is going to fund the elimination of one of their cash cows. They need viruses, and lots of them.

Think of it as the 100 mpg carburator we always heard about in the 70's and 80's, except for real.

Baloney.

Rarely (if EVER) does a big discovery, as this alleges, go untested/unverified by MULTIPLE labs. If this guy's concept/idea is so great, there would be dozens of other research labs lining up to replicate his results and expand on them.

Claiming 'persecution' or going to Indiegogo to fund his research project doesn't pass the 'smell test' for me, because if this is such a breakthrough, it would be pursued by many bio labs at universities around the country, let alone around the world.

 

[IACub]

Dude just needs a better PR person.

 

[SSG T]

Dude just needs a better PR person.

 

[IACub]

Holy crap DO NOT FUND THIS MAN'S RESEARCH!!!

 

[naturalbornhawk]

Baloney.

Rarely (if EVER) does a big discovery, as this alleges, go untested/unverified by MULTIPLE labs. If this guy's concept/idea is so great, there would be dozens of other research labs lining up to replicate his results and expand on them.

Claiming 'persecution' or going to Indiegogo to fund his research project doesn't pass the 'smell test' for me, because if this is such a breakthrough, it would be pursued by many bio labs at universities around the country, let alone around the world.

I'm pretty sure Joe's Place is one of.....them.

 

[NoleSoup4U]

Too bad the government is spending so much money on the sexual habits of the common rat, although I'm sure that the rats are more important than our health.

 

[JWolf74]

Too bad the government is spending so much money on the sexual habits of the common rat, although I'm sure that the rats are more important than our health.

I'm not sure what you're referencing, but rats, along with many animals, have long been used as important research models for human disease and potential treatments.

 

[NoleSoup4U]

I'm not sure what you're referencing, but rats, along with many animals, have long been used as important research models for human disease and potential treatments.

My point is that we're wasting money on useless garbage that could be put to better use.

 

[JWolf74]

My point is that we're wasting money on useless garbage that could be put to better use.

A lot of these studies sound silly (and some are), but have real implications for human research. Not to mention, the amount of money available for NIH funding is woefully inadequate.

 

[NoleSoup4U]

A lot of these studies sound silly (and some are), but have real implications for human research

Oh I'm sure. You gotta be able to treat ED...as long as the cancer doesn't kill you first.

 

[NoleSoup4U]

ED in lab rats:

 

[mstp1992]

Oh I'm sure. You gotta be able to treat ED...as long as the cancer doesn't kill you first.

You need to brush up on the topic of biomedical research funding before commenting. You simply come across as extremely ignorant if not downright stupid.

 

[mstp1992]

Four years ago, Todd Rider was on top of the world. The MIT-trained bioengineer had developed a radical idea for killing viruses. Initial test results showed that his therapy, called DRACO, could kill every virus he threw it at: 15 viruses were killed in human cells, and two in mice.

It seemed like there was a chance it could be the biggest discovery in medicine since the invention of antibiotics. Glowing headlines praised the potentially world-changing panacea. "Todd Rider Has a Kill Switch for Viruses," wrote Bloomberg BusinessWeek. The Verge: "Killing sickness: is DRACO a doomsday device for viruses?" Time magazine declared it one of the top 50 inventions of the year.

Yet over the next few years, things started going wrong. Rider moved from lab to lab and says he couldn't raise the money to continue testing DRACO, despite, he claims, the continued promise of the concept.

After working on his invention for 16 years, he's found himself in what he calls "the funding valley of death," too far along to get money from those who supported his preliminary studies and too far from market to get Big Pharma's backing.

With DRACO on the brink of becoming one of many potentially — potentially! — transformative breakthroughs that never pass the "good idea" phase, Rider has turned to the internet for help.

He launched an Indiegogo campaign on October 13 to raise $100,000, enough to restart his work, though just a fraction of what he truly needs. But after two months, he was only halfway there, so the campaign was recently extended.

It's impossible to know at this early stage if DRACO can do everything that Rider hopes it will — whether it will really be able to seek and destroy a wide variety of viruses inside a sick person.

And now we may never find out.

Here's the story of Todd Rider's journey to try to create a true cure-all for the often deadly viruses that pose an enormous, ongoing threat to millions of lives.

http://www.techinsider.io/todd-rider-draco-crowdfunding-broad-spectrum-antiviral-2015-12

There does seem to be promise to this technology. Recently, a lab in China independently showed its effectiveness against Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (C. Guo & L. Chen, et al, 2015).

He's obviously having difficulty obtaining federal funding for whatever reason. I would think this would be a perfect opportunity for him to apply for funding from any number of 'foundations' like McDonnell, Gates, Pershing Square, McArthur, Keck, Sloan, Templeton, etc.

 

[thewop]

I doubt Big Pharma is going to fund the elimination of one of their cash cows. They need viruses, and lots of them.

Think of it as the 100 mpg carburator we always heard about in the 70's and 80's, except for real.

Exactly. Why cure something when you can continually produce drugs that treat the symptoms?

He should take his $100k when it's raised, move his operation overseas, test it on humans, and bring it back as an "all natural" supplement not subject to the same rigors as big pharma.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

Yeah something strikes me as strange. . . He seems to be the only one who's very familiar with the research. I should think that if others where able to replicate his results that they would be pushing for funding for their own research along similar lines or collaborating on his research.

If he can get other labs to replicate his results then I would want to know why he's not getting any funding.

 

[86Hawkeye]

Baloney.

Rarely (if EVER) does a big discovery, as this alleges, go untested/unverified by MULTIPLE labs. If this guy's concept/idea is so great, there would be dozens of other research labs lining up to replicate his results and expand on them.

Claiming 'persecution' or going to Indiegogo to fund his research project doesn't pass the 'smell test' for me, because if this is such a breakthrough, it would be pursued by many bio labs at universities around the country, let alone around the world.

This.

 

[mstp1992]

Exactly. Why cure something when you can continually produce drugs that treat the symptoms?

He should take his $100k when it's raised, move his operation overseas, test it on humans, and bring it back as an "all natural" supplement not subject to the same rigors as big pharma.

Something about this strikes me as a bit odd. He had his breakthrough paper published in 2011, but has published nothing since then regarding this technique. Rider left MIT in 2014 to go to the Draper Laboratory (a non-profit research institute), then left that position earlier this year in order to obtain funding and work independently. There's just something about this that doesn't add up. I'm not saying the technology as described doesn't have potential, but I'm awfully surprised he's not publishing more findings.

Addendum: as noted before, to date only one other lab has independently published data demonstrating its effectiveness. Other authors have cited his work (7 citations to date). But, it's also apparent that several other labs are working on very similar broad spectrum antirvirals such as he has done. I'm wondering if his work at Draper hasn't produced the results he was anticipating (ie., replication of earlier findings in higher order mammals). I looked at the funding of some of these other researchers and some are receiving NIH funding for their work in broad spectrum antivirals. The fact he's having trouble obtaining funding makes me think there might be more to the story.

Addendum 2: I was just really curious about this lack of funding issue so I went to the NIH database of awarded grants. There are currently 76 grants awarded specifically for research in the area of 'broad spectrum antiviral drugs' totaling almost $52 million. Most of the grants are awarded to researchers at universities, but also about a dozen pharmaceuticals have received grants in this work, plus a couple of grants that are awarded to federal programs like NCI and NIAID.

Interesting.

 

[mstp1992]

I think the take-home message is that there really appears to be federal grant money available for the type of research Dr. Rider is conducting. I'm just wondering what the issues are regarding his lack of funding success. Lack of replication either in his own lab (he hasn't published anything since 2011) or from other labs? Poor grant writing skills? Ticked off someone in his study section?

 

[NoleSoup4U]

You need to brush up on the topic of biomedical research funding before commenting. You simply come across as extremely ignorant if not downright stupid.

Maybe because that's not the point of my comments.

 

[mstp1992]

Maybe because that's not the point of my comments.

So, your point IS to show your ignorance?

Good to know.

 

[NoleSoup4U]

So, your point IS to show your ignorance?

Good to know.

You don't seem to understand my point. So, you calling me ignorant causes me to chuckle a little bit.

 

[thewop]

Something about this strikes me as a bit odd. He had his breakthrough paper published in 2011, but has published nothing since then regarding this technique. Rider left MIT in 2014 to go to the Draper Laboratory (a non-profit research institute), then left that position earlier this year in order to obtain funding and work independently. There's just something about this that doesn't add up. I'm not saying the technology as described doesn't have potential, but I'm awfully surprised he's not publishing more findings.

Addendum: as noted before, to date only one other lab has independently published data demonstrating its effectiveness. Other authors have cited his work (7 citations to date). But, it's also apparent that several other labs are working on very similar broad spectrum antirvirals such as he has done. I'm wondering if his work at Draper hasn't produced the results he was anticipating (ie., replication of earlier findings in higher order mammals). I looked at the funding of some of these other researchers and some are receiving NIH funding for their work in broad spectrum antivirals. The fact he's having trouble obtaining funding makes me think there might be more to the story.

Addendum 2: I was just really curious about this lack of funding issue so I went to the NIH database of awarded grants. There are currently 76 grants awarded specifically for research in the area of 'broad spectrum antiviral drugs' totaling almost $52 million. Most of the grants are awarded to researchers at universities, but also about a dozen pharmaceuticals have received grants in this work, plus a couple of grants that are awarded to federal programs like NCI and NIAID.

Interesting.

Good digging, well done. Very interesting indeed

 

[NoleSoup4U]

Something about this strikes me as a bit odd. He had his breakthrough paper published in 2011, but has published nothing since then regarding this technique. Rider left MIT in 2014 to go to the Draper Laboratory (a non-profit research institute), then left that position earlier this year in order to obtain funding and work independently. There's just something about this that doesn't add up. I'm not saying the technology as described doesn't have potential, but I'm awfully surprised he's not publishing more findings.

Addendum: as noted before, to date only one other lab has independently published data demonstrating its effectiveness. Other authors have cited his work (7 citations to date). But, it's also apparent that several other labs are working on very similar broad spectrum antirvirals such as he has done. I'm wondering if his work at Draper hasn't produced the results he was anticipating (ie., replication of earlier findings in higher order mammals). I looked at the funding of some of these other researchers and some are receiving NIH funding for their work in broad spectrum antivirals. The fact he's having trouble obtaining funding makes me think there might be more to the story.

Addendum 2: I was just really curious about this lack of funding issue so I went to the NIH database of awarded grants. There are currently 76 grants awarded specifically for research in the area of 'broad spectrum antiviral drugs' totaling almost $52 million. Most of the grants are awarded to researchers at universities, but also about a dozen pharmaceuticals have received grants in this work, plus a couple of grants that are awarded to federal programs like NCI and NIAID.

Interesting.

It sounds about right if you believe the system to be corrupt. But government would NEVER be corrupt, right?