Hospital to trial pioneering drug for MS sufferers

A PIONEERING new drug to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is now being trialled at a South Yorkshire hospital.

The treatment – called ATX-MS-1467 – targets the immune system and staff are now looking for volunteers to take part in clinical trials at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

The drug has been designed to stop the body from attacking the protective "sheath" which surrounds nerve cells, while allowing the immune system to fight infections and viruses as normal.

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Although many drugs have already been developed to treat the symptoms of MS, this new drug has been designed to instead treat the underlying cause of the disease.

It is especially targeted at relapsing forms of MS, where symptoms appear and then disappear again.

MS is now one of the most common diseases to affect the nervous system in young adults.

There are around 100,000 sufferers in the UK, including around 1,844 in South Yorkshire, and three times as many women as men have the condition, according to figures from the MS Society charity.

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The Royal Hallamshire Hospital is one of several sites across the country taking part in these early-stage trials for this new potential therapy.

If the results are successful then the drug could be approved for widespread use.

Biotech company Apitope has developed the drug and is currently recruiting 40 patients aged between 18 and 55 to join this second Phase I clinical trial.

To qualify, patients must meet certain criteria including a diagnosis of relapsing MS in the last 10 years.

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They must also have experienced one relapse episode in the past 12 months or two within the past 24 months, and not be currently on disease modifying treatment.

ATX-MS-1467 has been tested on patients with secondary progressive MS in a previous Phase I clinical trial.

This latest development in MS research comes just a fortnight after the Queen officially opened Sheffield University's Institute for Translational Neurosciences – SITraN – in the city.

The centre is Europe's first dedicated research facility that aims to find treatments and, ultimately, a cure for motor neurone disease and other neurological conditions such as MS and Parkinson's Disease.

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Brought about by the university and a fundraising group called the Sheffield Institute Foundation, the facility is headed by consultant neurologist and neuroscientist Professor Pam Shaw.

Professor Shaw said: "The ground-breaking institute will enable us to create a centre of excellence, dedicated to generating much more effective therapies.

"It has been my goal to increase our understanding of the causes of MND and this new centre will enable us to translate discoveries in our labs into practical clinical therapies."

SITraN will employ up to 150 staff within three years to work with other universities in Britain and America, pharmaceutical companies and charities.

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Construction of the new centre, on Dorset Street, near the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, began in July last year and the building was completed in October.

The research facility, designed by architects Bond Bryan and constructed by ISG, covers 2,800 sq m over two floors and includes research labs, offices and a library.

Professor Keith Burnett, vice-chancellor of Sheffield University, said of the newly-opened Institute: "I am extremely proud that the University has opened the first dedicated MND research facility in Europe, which will put both our institution and the city at the forefront of research into neurodegenerative diseases."