Expert: David Scott - 11/5/2006

Question
Will it be of great interest for people with acne prone skin if an acne vaccine is discovered. You see my grandfather who has a degree of PHD in Microbiology discovered how to eliminate pimples. The results are very satisfying. He has a record of 500 patients that received the vaccine and it worked  90%. It worked approximately with 450 acne patients. Will it have a certain boom if it was introduced in the market?

Answer
Have the 500 patients received the vaccine in a research setting, with an IRB approved protocol, and adequate controls in place?  Has (or will) an article with results be prepared for a peer reviewed journal?  If the answer is yes to all of the above, and the results showed 90% efficacy, then you have your answer, that the vaccine would be well received in the market.
However in my experience, many Investigators gather data, but not in the proper fashion, and waste many years, during which they could have advanced to market.  In FDA monitored clinical trials, one important factor is the placebo effect (patients reporting an effect when they are not taking an active product), the monitored effect (patients behaving differently when they know they are being "monitored" in a clinical trial), and the strength of the protocol (poorly written protocols cost more than you would think).
If your grandfather has been testing a formulation (he created) on friend and family for a couple years (this is a scenario I have seen many times), then I am not excited to hear this.  If your grandfather has told you about his work at his company (or University) about the vaccine, and he has been conducting good FDA, IRB approved, GCP protocols....then I look forward to hearing more.
He / his company may be at the stage where they are seeking out a larger Pharmaceutical Company to license the vaccine, and release it to the general public.