Released 18 November 2008

Rheumatoid arthritis vaccine 'shows good results'

A new vaccine for rheumatoid arthritis shows good results in mice, the drug manufacturer has announced.

CEL-SCI Corporation told the 6th Annual GTCbio Vaccine Conference in Vienna that its vaccine, CEL-2000, prevents or retards the permanent damage caused by the disease to tissue.

Mice were injected with collagen on day 0 and again on day 21 to induce rheumatoid arthritis.

Once they researched a significant and consistently measurable level of the disease, they were given etanercept (Enbrel) or CEL-2000 for 28 days.

CEL-2000 was administered only twice, while etanercept was given every other day for the duration of the study.

Data collected revealed that CEL-2000 is an effective treatment for the disease even with existing therapies, and that the vaccine shows the same results as produced by etanercept.

Dr Daniel Zimmerman, senior vice-president of research, Cellular Immunology at CEL-SCI, said: "It is very exciting to see the reduction of severe rheumatoid arthritis damage in these animals through a simple vaccination.

"I am hopeful that CEL-2000 will one day be used to lessen the damage caused by rheumatoid arthritis in patients."

A spokesman for the Arthritis Research Campaign said the study was of interest, but as the vaccine had yet to be tested on healthy volunteers or patients, there was still a long way to go.
ADNFCR-1096-ID-18882269-ADNFCR

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