May 28, 2008

Tom Lane, molecular biology & biochemistry professor, and Hans Keirstead, anatomy & neurobiology associate professor, created antibodies for new drugs that will be tested in patient trials for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis, inflammatory diseases that afflict millions of people. Mederex, Inc., which holds the license to the UCI-patented antibodies, will conduct Phase 2 trials to assess how well the drugs work in small groups of patients suffering from the diseases. Earlier this decade, Lane and Keirstead discovered the compounds that block the inflammatory response occurring in autoimmune diseases, which also include multiple sclerosis. “This is promising news,” Lane said. “It’s exciting to see your laboratory work get one step closer to helping people live healthier, pain-free lives.”