BMS backs rheumatoid arthritis prevention trial
pharmafile | March 27, 2015 | News story | Sales and Marketing | BMS, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Orencia, RA, abatacept, rheumatoid arthritis
Bristol-Myers Squibb is funding a £3 million trial of Orencia as a preventative treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
The study will be led by researchers from England’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and will be the world’s largest trial investigating whether targeted immunotherapy can prevent people who are at high risk from developing the disease.
BMS’ Orencia (abatacept) is already licensed for treating patients with established RA, and recommended by NICE after conventional drug treatments (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, DMARDs) have failed.
Orencia works by reducing the immune system’s attack on normal tissues by interfering with the immune cells (called T lymphocytes) that contribute to the development of RA.
The NIHR researchers will now test the drug in a large experimental trial over the next two years. More than 200 people will be recruited who researchers consider to be at high-risk, because they have joint pains and evidence of immune system changes in their blood.
The APIPPRA (Arthritis Prevention In the Pre-clinical Phase of RA with Abatacept) study is being led by Professor Andrew Cope from Guy’s and St Thomas’ biomedical research centre at King’s College London.
Professor Cope says: “This is a very exciting study of a therapy that is a logical choice for the very earliest detectable phase of the disease process. This is an important first step towards curing this chronic, disabling disease that affects over half a million adults in the UK.”
Professor Dame Sally Davies, who is Chief Medical Officer for England says: “Preventing chronic diseases and finding ways to minimise their progression is vital for patients’ quality of life. I am delighted that the NIHR is working with Bristol-Myers Squibb on this important preventative study.
“The Government created Translational Research Partnerships to work in collaboration with the life sciences industry specifically to drive the development of new treatment options for people with debilitating conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.”
Lilian Anekwe
Related Content
Elekta and BMS partner for digital treatment for melanoma
Elekta and Bristol Myers Squibb have announced a pilot collaboration in which the companies plan …
BMS acquires Mirati Therapeutics for $4.8bn
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Mirati Therapeutics have announced that they have entered into a …
BMS shares new research and development plans at the company’s R&D day
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) recently held a Research and Development (R&D) Day in New York, …
