A Strasbourg woman is a finalist for the 2017 European Inventor Prize. She created the first specific treatment for lupus. It prevents autoimmune activation.
- Systemic lupus erythematosus affects 5 million people worldwide, including 80 to 100,000 in France.
- 90% of patients are female.
- The main symptoms of the disease are fatigue, joint pain and skin manifestations.
- Left untreated, lupus can progress and affect not only muscles, bones, but also organs.
- 60% of patients do not receive appropriate treatment.
Will a Frenchwoman win the 2017 European Inventor Prize? Hope is allowed. The European Patent Office has published the list finalists this April 26. Among the researchers in the running, the immunologist Sylviane Muller. This Strasbourg resident is the creator of a treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus. In trials, this drug could revolutionize the management of patients, who currently do not have any specific therapy.
Block autoantibodies
In the absence of treatment, the disease, severely disabling, continues to evolve. For people who suffer from it, it means recurring fatigue, joint pain or a wolf mask on the face. In question, the immune system which turns against its host. Because lupus is an autoimmune disease. The body produces autoantibodies which attack tissues and organs. There is currently only one solution, and that is to prescribe immunosuppressants.
The approach developed by Sylviane Muller’s team consists of modulating the immune system rather than inhibiting it as a whole. The drug, called Lupuzor, therefore acts against a specific mechanism of lupus. Dysfunctional CD4 T cells are responsible for the production of autoantibodies. By preventing them from recognizing the elements of the self, the drug blocks their activation.
Improvement in two thirds of patients
This upstream action is enabled by a synthetic peptide, P140, developed by the Strasbourg team (Bas-Rhin). It was discovered almost by accident, while researchers were working on the impact of synthetic peptides on the immune response. Its effect is twofold: it improves symptoms and prevents the development of lupus.
These hypotheses remained to be confirmed with patients. A phase IIb study, published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, has delivered encouraging results: in two thirds of patients, the disease receded after 3 months of treatment.
A pivotal phase III trial was launched immediately in December 2015. For one year, 200 patients will receive either Lupuzor or a placebo. The conclusions are expected by the end of 2017, according to the CNRS. If they are also positive, the drug could immediately obtain a marketing authorization (MA). The people of Strasbourg hope to obtain this sesame during the year 2018.
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