I've been following the Cordase story for years and my feeling is, it's never going to happen. Or rather, by the time they would be ready to market it, something better will have come along.

For Dupuytren's it doesn't seem to offer much more than NA - it's another way to rupture the cord. But it could do great things for Peyronie's and maybe some big drug company will pick it up for that reason. The potential market for a Peyronie's treatment has to be very significant as it is not a condition anyone would choose to live with given an alternative, and believe me, cost or lack of insurance coverage would not be an issue. I would like to know why BioSpecifics hasn't pursued this application ahead of Dupuytren's.

Interesting how the economics just seem to work against us.

It's hard to justify $2000 for a treatment that consists of a couple of injections, a 10-minute wait, and - snap. If a veterinarian did this it would cost 1/10th as much. Maybe Collagenase is fantastically expensive to produce, but I doubt it. Or maybe it could command that price if it really eliminated surgery, but that's in doubt.

But a drug company has to believe they can recoup the R & D investment through the price of the product, or they won't do the research. If a new drug is cheap to produce and administer, and so effective that you only need it once - it won't attract investment, given the huge costs of getting FDA approval.

For the record, let me clarify exactly what I was told by M r. W. @ BioS in response to my question regarding projected treatment cost. What he indicated was that compared to surgery it would be highly "cost effective", but that the actual amount has yet to be determined. Then he said "but it's not going to cost a large sum like $2,000 or something". Within the wide range of 1K to 2K, I got the impression it was closer to 1K. Essentially, he wasn't in a position to go on the record. Frankly, as a fellow entrepreneur I imagine he will want to get whatever the market will allow inorder to pay off the cost of FDA approval.

But now with NA in the US, the game has changed. Considering the rules of supply and demand, there is now an alternative on the supply side.

Randy, thanks for the clarification.

I tend to be too negative sometimes. The incidence of Dupuytren's and Peyronie's is often estimated to be 5% of the older male population. These are big numbers. As with any new product, advertising and promotion can used to create demand - i.e. to make people aware that they have a treatable condition. A big company will run an obnoxious saturation campaign of "ask your doctor about" ads, but there could be more sophisticated methods. When doctors and clinics become aware of a new treatment that is effective, low-risk, doesn't require expensive diagnostic tests - and brings in some money - everyone wins.

Collagenase also may be effective for frozen shoulder, which is a very common problem that can require prolonged and costly physical therapy.

For the record, hubby has had NA and loved it...but...if the injections were available...we would probably do both depending on the finger...stage...etc...

As for the cost....heck...we paid more then that just for the hotel in Europe so I don't think the cost is an issue.

The two treatments will compliment each other rather than compete with each other.

A.M.