By STEVEN ZECOLA
Recursion Pharmaceuticals announced results today for one its AI-discovered treatments. I was pleased to see the large, sustained reduction in polyps attributable to its treatment for Familial Adenomatous Polyposis. Recursions’ oral medication will be viewed by the traditional scientific and regulatory community as “promising”.
On the other hand, I was disappointed not to see/hear any reference to the savings of the cost to society from this treatment and a vague reference to working with the FDA in 1H2026. Quite frankly, the urgency seemed to be lacking.
Currently, treating FAP is an expensive, lifelong endeavor for the 50,000+ survivors. Early detection strategies cost $10k+ and late detection $37k+. The cost to treating metastatic colorectal cancer (for which FAP predisposes) can be extremely high, up to $300,000. Overall, the cost to society from FAP easily exceeds $1 billion per year, or more than $15 billion on a present value basis.
This medication should not be subject to any further regulatory delay. There is enough information now on efficacy and safety to have Recursion more forward with a broad application of this treatment, while continuing test dosage levels and stratifying the patient population. The alternative is more needless cost and suffering.
Steve Zecola sold his web application and hosting business when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease twenty three years ago. Since then, he has run a consulting practice, taught in graduate business school, and exercised extensively
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