Promising New MS Treatments

[Guest guest]

April 12, 2005

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The suspension of sales of promising multiple

sclerosis drug Tysabri earlier this year was devastating to disease

sufferers, but it has opened a window of opportunity to alternative

treatments.

Among the therapies in the pipeline is xin, a PharmaFrontiers

Corp. product developed at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

" xin is a fascinating concept, " said Dr. Fox, director of

the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic of Central Texas in Austin. " It's

basically a way of immunizing yourself against your own bad blood

cells. It's much more a magic bullet. "

Tysabri was considered the leading therapy for MS until February,

when maker Biogen Idec suspended sales after a patient died from a

rare brain infection. Two other patients have been diagnosed with

the infection since then.

Biogen told Reuters last week it still hopes to bring back Tysabri

for patients who do not have suppressed immune systems.

" It still is a remarkably effective drug and a tolerable drug and it

may yet come about as an MS drug, " Fox said. " They may find it safe

as a single drug, but not in combination with other medicines. It's

still an open story. "

There are other treatments farther on the horizon, Fox said,

including monoclonal antibodies aimed at selective portions of the

immune system and a pill that could replace shots, intravenous drips

and other more invasive techniques.

PharmaFrontiers is hopeful xin can fill the void sooner.

Currently, in U.S. Food and Drug Administration trials, the

treatment sparks an autoimmune reaction against the rogue T-cells

that are thought to attack the protective sheath around nerve

fibers, causing MS.

xin is not a drug. Rather, it is a treatment that redirects a

patient's own T-cells, meaning it is developed specifically for each

case.

" It's always going to be an individualized treatment, "

PharmaFrontiers Chief Executive Officer B. Mc

said. " It seems like the disease is individualized. One size does

not fit all. "

PharmaFrontiers, based near Houston, acquired xin when it

acquired Opexa Pharmaceuticals Inc. last November.

If xin is approved, PharmaFrontiers wants to serve MS patients

across the nation and around the world, likely meaning facilities in

Europe and Asia.

That sort of expansion will require cash and Mc leaves open

the possibility his company could be acquired by a bigger fish some

day.

" These things require continual amounts of funding, " he said. " At

some point in time we'll seek out a European partner and a Far East

partner to help pay for parts of this. It clearly will require some

more money. "