Xanthus' Symadex positive in MS model

US firm Xanthus Pharmaceuticals has presented preclinical data further supporting the potential for its imidazoacridinone drug Symadex (C-1311) to reverse the clinical and pathological signs of multiple sclerosis, including new data demonstrating increased spinal cord remyelination. The study was presented by Stephen Karlik, professor of diagnostic radiology at the University of Western Ontario, Canada and researchers from Xanthus at a meeting of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada in Banff.

Using an animal model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelistis designed to replicate MS, Dr Karlik studied the efficacy of Symadex in both acute and chronic phases of the disease. While treatment with Symadex in this study attenuated acute EAE, it prevented chronic disease. Importantly, in chronic disease the drug also demonstrated a statistically-significant ability to reverse clinical signs of EAE, including perivascular inflammation, myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord resulting in a loss of its ability to transmit nerve impulses) and demyelination (the loss of myelin, a protective coating of the nerve fibers, that can lead to impaired bodily functions).

Of significant note, Symadex also increased spinal cord remyelination (the repair of damaged myelin) in the study. Myelin repair occurs spontaneously in MS, but happens very slowly. Identifying ways to speed the healing process is an important component in finding an effective treatment for MS. In the study, remyelination was determined after four weeks of treatment by a blinded observer who measured the size of all lesions and the amount remyelinated in all sections of the animal.