Anti-viral for MS, the alternative charcot project

Curtin F, Vidal V, Bernard C, Kromminga A, Lang AB, Porchet H.
Serum pharmacokinetics and cerebrospinal fluid concentration analysis of the new IgG4 monoclonal antibody GNbAC1 to treat multiple sclerosis: a Phase 1 study.MAbs. 2016 [Epub ahead of print]

GNbAC1 is a humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody antagonist of Mulitple Sclerosis Retrovirus Envelope (MSRV-Env), a protein that could play a critical role in multiple sclerosis. This randomized placebo-c,ontrolled dose-escalation study evaluated the safety and pharmacokinetics of GNbAC1 in 21 healthy volunteers after single intravenous infusion at doses of 6, 18 and 36 mg/kg. Lumbar punctures were performed at days 2, 15 or 29 to measure GNbAC1 concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). GNbAC1 was well tolerated. Serum data show a dose-linear pharmacokinetics. A mean CSF/serum ratio of 0.12% was observed at Day 2, increasing to 0.39% at Day 15 and 0.42% at Day 29. Linear regression analysis shows a relationship between GNbAC1 CSF/serum ratio and albumin CSF/serum ratio and a relationship at the limit of statistical significance with the timing of CSF sampling.

Charcot1 might have failed but the idea is not dead. This study looks at an antibody to human endogenous retrovirus and this study looks at safety and phamacokinetic and says that if the target is in the brain 99.5%  of that injected is wasted. This also the case with anti-LINGO so if you want to target things in the brain are antibody infusions the way to go. In the long run probably not but if the antibody approach works and is safe maybe you could make a vaccine. Alternatively make a small molecule that targets the virus and gets in the brain

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