A new type of experimental drug appears promising for treating two devastating illnesses caused by the immune system attacking parts of the body: multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease.
The drug, called Antegren, significantly reduced the number of new brain lesions and relapses in patients suffering from MS, and improved the conditions of patients suffering from Crohn's, an intestinal disease, according to two new studies published together today.
The findings suggest that a new strategy for controlling the immune system, designed to be more targeted than existing approaches, could provide a better means of treating a host of so-called autoimmune diseases, such as MS, Crohn's and rheumatoid arthritis.
"It's very exciting," said Lars Ekman, president of research and development for Elan Pharmaceuticals of Dublin, Ireland, which is developing Antegren with Biogen Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. "It's one of the first times a molecule with a new mechanism of action shows efficacy in two apparently very different diseases. It's a new treatment paradigm for autoimmune diseases."
The drug has also shown promise in a small, still unpublished study for treating ulcerative colitis, another autoimmune disease, Ekman said.
Autoimmune diseases are a class of illnesses in which the immune system attacks the body for reasons that remain unclear. In MS, which afflicts an estimated 400,000 Americans, the immune system attacks the coating around nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing an often progressive, crippling loss of motor control.
In Crohn's, the immune system attacks cells lining the intestines, causing severe abdominal pain, fever, ulcers and other problems that can become disabling. As many as 1 million Americans are estimated to suffer from Crohn's or ulcerative colitis.
The research was reported in today's New England Journal of Medicine.
Antegren, also known as natalizumab, is a laboratory-produced protein called a monoclonal antibody. It's the first of a new class of compounds known as selective adhesion molecule (SAM) inhibitors because they're designed to inhibit the ability of certain immune cells to adhere to cells in parts of the body that are being damaged.
E-mail this story 
