TACI-Ig shows promise in Ph Ib RA study

Seattle, USA-based biopharmaceutical firm ZymoGenetics and Swiss counterpart Serono say that the results of a study of TACI-Ig, developed to target autoimmune diseases, show that treatment lowered serum rheumatoid factor levels in rheumatoid arthritis patients. The findings, which were announced at the recent European League Against Rheumatology congress held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, also revealed that the agent brought about a dose-dependant reduction in autoimmune immunoglobulin levels, which are elevated in RA sufferers.

TACI-Ig is thought to interact with various cytokines which are involved in stimulating B lymphyocytes to overproduce the destructive "self" antibodies, which are the root cause of most autoimmune conditions. The firms also said that, while the study had not been specifically designed to assess the compound's clinical efficacy, the encouraging trends in ACR (disease improvement level) and disease activity score (DAS) that were observed indicate that it does have a beneficial impact on the condition. The companies added the they intend to begin a Phase II clinical program in the second half of the year.