Fridae

Not so fast, says the Thai government. The makers of the alleged "miracle cure" for Aids called V-1 Imunator think they can have their product registered as a drug and out to patients under that label by next weekend, the Bangkok Post reports.

The Food and Drug Administration of Thailand said that the process might take a bit more time, since the government actually had to review to paperwork and inspect the plant before it gives the company the go-ahead.

A member of Thailand's National Committee on Aids Vaccine Trials said that the Committee refused to name the concoction a "drug" when they realized that the maker did not appear to know what it was he had made. "He could not clearly explain the properties of the product or describe what it was actually made of," the unidentified Committee member told the Post.

Dr Prasert Tongchareon, virologist at Siriraj Hospital, meanwhile, complained about the low quality of the trials V-1 Immunator was undergoing. Doctors had not adequately taken patient histories, and failed to take blood samples.

What is this all about? An unproven substance with as-yet-undemonstrated Aids-fighting abilities is being hyped a cure, something that no other drug has successfully claimed. Before V-1 Immunator was presented to the FDA, the same company presented an application for a food product simply called "V-1." It was made of several vegetable products, the Post said, and was intended for export. Could it be that foreign markets are the eventual goal? Time will tell.