Take a Tarantino Type Ride into the Wild World of Big Drugs, Big Sex and Big Government…
WHY ISN’T THIS DRUG ON EVERY SHELF IN AMERICA?
By
Terence Winters, PhD and Robert Dorr, PhD
PUBLIUS SPECIAL GUESTS: Terence Winters, PhD and Robert Dorr, PhD are authors of Sex, Diet and Tanning: The Curious Story of the Drug to Induce a Natural Tan Including All You Ever Wanted to Know About Tanning.
Sex, Diet and Tanning tells the true story of the development of the tanning drug known sequentially as Melanotan, Epitan and then Scenesse (afamelanotide), from its discovery in the laboratories of University of Arizona (UA) to the start of the clinical trials.
It also includes everything you need to know about the biology of tanning written in a way that can be easily understood. It is now approved by the FDA and EMA and is marketed in the USA and the EU to treat an orphan disease by causing the patient to develop a natural tan without exposure to sunlight.
The story covers the incredible properties of this class of drugs which include sexual arousal, weight loss and tanning in humans, which led to the nickname of the “Barbie Drug”. It describes the risks and uncertainties of the company start-up process and how decisions must be made based on limited information and implemented with scarce amounts of capital.
The story takes several surprising turns including the accidental discovery of the sexual arousal properties and relocation from Tucson, Arizona to Melbourne, Australia due to the availability of funding. It also includes a tragic murder and some really interesting personalities. It is a guide to structuring a start-up company and making it successful.
BIO: Dr Terence Winters is a retired venture capitalist and biotechnology CEO living in Scottsdale, Arizona. In his VC career, he specialized in helping to create and finance 21 life science company start-ups based on technology out of universities, including Melanotan. He finished his career by crossing over to be the CEO of one of these biotechnology start-ups.
BIO: Dr Robert Dorr is Emeritus Professor of Medical Pharmacology at the UA College of Medicine in Tucson. He is a pharmacist with a PhD in Medical Pharmacology. He spent much of his career working with the UA team studying the effects of sunlight on the human body and was one of the scientific founders of Melanotan Corporation which licensed and developed the tanning drug.
FIND THEIR WEBSITE HERE:
“A drug like ours could dramatically lower skin cancer rates including the use of damaging sun tanning booths that use UV-A light. This drug does not damage the skin to produce a visible and photo-protective tan.” – ROBERT DORR, PHD
“The drug is already approved by the FDA in the US, by the EMA in Europe and by the TGA in Australia to alleviate the severe pain from exposure to sunlight for a small market of patients with a specific kind of genetic defect. If this drug is approved for cosmetic tanning, it is likely that the tanning salons would become obsolete. It will be at least as big as Botox.” – TERRY WINTERS, PHD