Pharmaceutical Companies Latest Drug RepoMore Patents
and Trials Continue with MBP8298
BioMS Medical, based in Edmonton, Alberta, has recently
received 17 additional patents for MBP8298 in conjunction
with the University of Alberta. In total, 50 patents
have been granted to the University of Alberta for
MBP8298 in 29 countries worldwide, including three
patents issued in the United States. MBP8298 stands
for Myelin Basic Protein Peptide and is comprised
of 17 amino acids. The drug, which has been in research
for 26 years, is going to phase III of clinical trials,
with successful results in the pre-clinical, phase
I and phase II human clinical trials in Canada.
Background on MBP8298
MBP8298 works by reducing the disease-associated production of a group of anti-MBP
antibodies that are reactive with the central nervous system. The four-year
phase II trial enrolled 32 patients with either primary or secondary-progressive
MS. The study had two phases, a two-year randomized double-blinded, placebo-controlled
phase, followed by a two-year open label phase. During the double-blinded
phase patients were given 500mg of the MBP8298 peptide intravenously every
six months. Data from the trial was analyzed both in terms of overall results,
and in terms of patients who carried either HLA-DR2 or HLA-DR4 immune response
genes ("DR2/4"). These genes are associated with helper T-cells
involved in the production of anti-MBP antibodies targeted by the MBP8298
peptide.
In the normal population, the DR2/4 gene is relatively
low. In the MS population, however, individuals with
either the DR2 or DR4 genes account for approximately
75 percent of the estimated two million MS patients
worldwide. Of the 32 participants enrolled in the
double-blinded phase of the trial, there was a representative
sample of 20 patients that carried either the DR2
or DR4 genes, which were evenly divided between patients
dosed with MBP8298 and placebo.
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The 19th Congress of the European Committee for
Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS)
was held in Milan, Italy in September. This prompted
pharmaceutical companies to send out press releases
with the latest information on their drugs and studies
with MS. The following summarizes some of the reports
from the pharmaceutical companies.
Read all the
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