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Company to test drug for immune disorders

June 23, 2000

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Human Genome Sciences said on Friday that is has

received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin human

clinical trials of B-lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS), a protein that could help

sufferers of Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID) and other immune

disorders, including AIDS.

People with CVID are more susceptible to infection, leaving them plagued by

frequent recurrences of conditions such as pneumonia, bronchitis and

sinusitis.

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The BLyS therapy is designed to address CVID patients' failure to make

normal quantities of the antibodies that help defend the body against

infection by viruses and bacteria.

The usual treatment for the condition is regular administration of

antibodies. BLyS may help to restore the body's ability to produce

antibodies on its own, according to the firm, by stimulating immune system

cells called B cells to produce antibodies, the company explained.

Only a few thousand patients in the US and Europe suffer from the CVID, but

BLyS may also prove useful in treating other immune disorders. Preclinical

studies have indicated the protein's potential as a therapy for AIDS, as

well as for immune deficiencies resulting from certain cancers and from

medical procedures such as organ transplants, the firm said. In addition,

BLyS may hold promise as a treatment to boost the function of the immune

system in elderly adults.

A spokesperson for the company told Reuters Health that the trials are

expected to be underway by late July, only about a year after the firm's

original discovery of the protein.