Progress reports

Momentum builds in peptide trial

Reprinted from Recovery, May 2004

Peptimmune announced three more investigational sites for its trial of a peptide designed to treat pemphigus vulgaris in a more targeted way, avoiding high doses of prednisone. The additions raise the number of sites to seven.

Jenifer Aronoff, spokeswoman for Peptimmune, reports that 1 of the 11 patients enrolled successfully concluded the trial and that we hope to complete the trial by the end of the year.

The three new investigators are:

Dr. John Fantasia
Long Island Jewish Hospital
270-05 76th Ave.
New Hyde Park, NY 11040
718-470-4436

Dr. David Greenstein
East Coast Clinical Research
15 Main St., Suite 204
Salisbury, MA 01952
978-462-6789

Dr. Victoria Werth
University of Pennsylvania
3600 Spruce St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215-662-2540

The original sites are in San Francisco, California; New York City, New York; Baltimore, Maryland and Cleveland, Ohio. For details contact Study Manager Sherry Reynolds at 617-715-8013 or visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Stanford yet to find first test subject

Dr. Alexa Kimball, at the Dermatology Clinical Trials Center at Stanford University, reports they have yet to find their first volunteer for the study of Enbrel. The medication has been successful in other bullous diseases, and the test is to see if it can reduce the number and severity of lesions in PV patients. Patients will receive $200 for completion of the study. For details contact Dr. Kimball by email at skinstudies@yahoo.com, call 650-724-7035 or visit the PPS website at 1clever.org.

Study advances at Cornell University

Dr Carina Rizzo, a researcher with Dr. Animesh Sinha at Cornell University, told the PPS that Dr. Sinha is very encouraged with the progress so far. They seek to find the cellular events that cause and perpetuate PV, by comparing the T cells of patients and healthy relatives. There are 42 patients in the study with 6 control relatives; 50 patient-relative pairs are sought. For details please call 212-746-6554 or email alspiz@yahoo.com.

New drug promising against stubborn PV

Three patients with refractory (not readily responding to treatment) cases of PV were successfully treated with a new medication, rituximab, in a hospital in Paris, France.

Three patients with refractory PV were treated with rituximab, resulting in a clinical response in all patients, which was complete in two of them. A decline in titers of autoantibodies paralleled disease activity, while circulating B cells remained undetectable for 6 to 10 months. In each case rituximab was well tolerated and allowed for oral steroids to be reduced.

Two patients experienced infections. A relapse occurred in 2 patients, at 6 and 10 months. A second course of rituximab controlled the disease in one of them. The report was published by the Archives of Dermatology.

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