MYASTHENIA GRAVIS NEW TREATMENT EFFORTSMYASTHENIA GRAVIS NEW TREATMENT EFFORTS
This page last updated on: March 22, 2007
General: The purpose of this page is to list and link to information about ongoing research efforts to find a CURE or BETTER TREATMENTS for myasthenia gravis.
1. A drug thought to be a potential substitute for Mestinon is being developed by Ester Neurosciences in Israel. "Ester Neurosciences Ltd. is a development stage biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of novel therapeutic products for the treatment of neurological disorders such as myasthenia gravis, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and acute stress reactions. Ester's unique platform technology is based on the company's breakthrough discoveries relating to cholinergic neuromodulation and its involvement in the diseased state."
The drug has completed Phase I (safety) trials in
Israel and the U.K. Phase IIa trials have began in Israel in mid-August
2004. A page with more information and links is at: http://pages.prodigy.net/stanley.way/myasthenia/antisense_drugs.htm
The drug has also received FDA Orphan Drug status in the U.S.
2. "TolerGenics utilizes a novel, patented (US patent #: 5,817,308) technology developed by scientists at the American Red Cross to train the immune system into no longer attacking a specific protein. In autoimmune diseases like diabetes, the body mounts an immune response against a normal protein such as insulin. In myasthenia, muscles are attacked, and in uveitis, there is inflammation of the eye that can lead to blindness." Phase 1 trials of the technology are planned in 2005 for uveitis. No trials have been planned at this time for myasthenia gravis.
3. An effort to develop a vaccine for myasthenia gravis is ongoing in Belgium. The effort was begun with the work of Dr. J. Edwin Blalock of the University of Alabama and shifted to Curavac, a company incorporated in Delaware, USA. According to the Belgian Medical Doctor, Dr. Stephane Huberty CEO of CuraVac "We own and exploit a patent on a technique to produce complementary peptides that was invented by Dr. J. Edwin Blalock. Complementary peptides that mimic the opposite shape of the protein under autoimmune attack can be very useful in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The research and development although well advanced on other autoimmune diseases is the most advanced on MG ...... As opposed to symptomatic treatments, our MG therapeutic vaccine is intended to cure MG once and for all with just 3 vaccine shots."
In the February 2005 issue of the Garden State Chapter Flash, Dr. Blalock writes "Specifically, a clinical study protocol was finalized by a contract firm specializing in these procedures, MSource Medical Development In addition, application was made for Orphan Drug Status for the vaccine in Europe. The committee responsible for such designation found our results very interesting but will require additional data on the precise vaccine formulation before granting Orphan Drug Status."
In a Letter to the Editor of JCI, Dr. Blalock compares his MG vaccine research to Jambou et al. as published in J. Clin. Invest. 2003; 112: 265-274.