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This article by Barbara Fox was prepared for the October 15, 2003 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Medarex Mice
Good news from the laboratory: Medarex mice are helping
to solve the SARS problem, and this announcement pushed stock up 45
cents to $7 on Friday, October 10. Medarex is partnering with
scientists from the University of Massachusetts Medical School to use
antibodies from the genetically engineered mice that have been
immunized with a protein used by the SARS virus. Initial tests show
that the antibodies neutralize the virus in non-human tissue cultures.
"Researchers believe this advance may lead to treatments to
prevent
infection with SARS after individuals have been exposed to the virus,
and potentially to therapeutic products to treat those already
infected,"
says a press release. "This important progress comes just six
months after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control provided the SARS
virus to UMMS to launch this research."
The SARS global outbreak of 2003 in which 774 people died was
eventually
contained, but epidemiologists fear that the disease could re-emerge
in an annual cycle similar to the common flu. "We’ve got mice
producing the right antibody," says Donna Ambrosino, director of the
Massachusetts laboratory that is conducting the research, "so
we hope it’s only a matter of time before we isolate the one cell
that will become the basis for a monoclonal antibody to prevent SARS
in individuals exposed to the illness." If all goes well, a product
could be ready for clinical tests in two years, she says.
Medarex is a biopharmaceutical firm that develops monoclonal
antibody-based
therapeutics for cancer, inflammation, autoimmune, and infectious
diseases using the UltiMAb Human Antibody Development System. It has
a multi-product Phase III manufacturing laboratory in Annandale.
Medarex
scientists Israel Lowy, Robert Graziano, and Nils Lonberg are working
on the project with Massachusetts-based scientists.
Earlier this month Medarex announced a collaboration with Trillium
Therapeutics Inc., a privately-held Canadian biotechnology company.
Medarex will employ its UltiMab Human Antibody Development System
to generate antibodies to disease targets identified by Trillium
(www.trilliumtherapeutics.com).
08540. Donald L. Drakeman, president and CEO. 609-430-2880; fax,
609-430-2850.
Home page: www.medarex.com<
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