Apitope MS Vaccine Shows Promise

Apitope Technology Ltd. (Bristol, UK), has announced the completion of dosing for all six multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in a Phase 1/2a trial of ATX-MS-1467. The therapeutic vaccine was found to be safe and well tolerated in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients.

Although efficacy was not an endpoint of this trial, one patient, with optic neuritis resulting from the neuroinflammatory process involved in MS, did demonstrate a clinically significant improvement in visual acuity post treatment. This was demonstrated in analysis of the initial visual acuity examination at screening compared to the one-month follow up test.

The ATX-MS-1467 Phase 1/2a open label trial was designed as a dose-escalation study to assess the safety and tolerability with all six patients receiving five escalating doses given seven to 14 days apart of 25, 50, 100, 400, and 800 µg followed by a repeat of the 800 µg dose.