PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 19, 2005--Scientists at Bayhill Therapeutics report promising findings for an investigational multiple sclerosis (MS) drug, BHT-3009, which represents a novel DNA plasmid-based approach for the treatment of the life-threatening disease.
In a number of patients with myelin basic protein (MBP) specific active T cells, BHT-3009 was shown to down-regulate these T cells, the primary cause of MS, an autoimmune disease. Left unchecked, the MBP-specific T cells shred the protective myelin sheath that encases the neurons responsible for nerve transmission. The absence of the myelin sheath results in unpredictable and increasingly destructive short circuits in the body's central nervous system, critical to life function. While scientists don't yet know what causes this pathology in MBP-specific T cells, when these T cells become pathogenic, they cause MS. Bayhill's drug development specifically centers on shutting down the disease causing activity of these MBP-specific T cells. From pre-clinical concept to clinical demonstration, the specifically of Bayhill's DNA plasmid therapy has resulted in a strong safety profile.
