Strong animal data for Abbott's DVD-Igs

US health care major Abbott says that preclinical data presented at the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting demonstrated that a single molecule with two antibody functions target two disease-causing agents implicated in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis, interleukin-1 alpha and IL-1 beta.

The study builds upon research published in the November 2007 issue of Nature Biotechnology, noted Abbott, whose in-house scientists were the first to report the discovery of a proprietary technology that combines the function and specificity of two or more monoclonal antibodies into one molecular entity that demonstrates drug-like properties and manufacturing feasibility. These molecules, called DVD-Ig, may allow for development of individual drug candidates that target multiple disease-causing agents in a variety of therapeutic categories, Abbott noted.

Study results show that the DVD-Ig molecule resulted in a profound inhibition of arthritis in mice as assessed by MAS (p<0.05, by Mann Whitney) and paw swelling (p<0.05, by Student t test). In addition, the DVD-Ig molecule showed a similar efficacy to the monospecific anti-IL-1 alpha and anti-IL-1 beta antibodies in combination, with a comparable impact on synovial hyperplasia, as well as bone and cartilage damage.