LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists said on Monday they had developed a novel strategy for treating flu using technology being developed by Xenova, Celltech and Genentech .
The Imperial College London team said their experiments in mice showed that the OX40 treatment eliminates flu symptoms by reducing the body's excessive immune response to infection.
"During flu infection the immune system has an 'all hands on deck' attitude to the viral assault but it's this that causes most of the damage," said Dr Tracy Hussell of Imperial's Center for Molecular Microbiology and Infection. "Essentially too many cells clog up the airways and prevent efficient transfer of oxygen into the bloodstream," she explained in a statement. The OX40 technology can be used either to dampen down the body's immune response for disorders such as arthritis or to boost it in cancer.
It is in pre-clinical development by Xenova and Celltech for immune disorders. Genentech acquired worldwide development and marketing rights from Xenova last year in a deal potentially worth $63 million. The team's results, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, showed that six days after infection with flu, mice who received the new treatment were indistinguishable from uninfected control mice.
But infected mice that had not been treated lost 25 per cent of their body weight, appeared hunched, withdrawn and lost their appetite -- all characteristic symptoms of flu. Xenova chief executive officer, David Oxlade, said that the results, though early, were clearly significant. He said Genentech had the development rights for conditions such as flu but they preferred "not to disclose all their plans."
Hussell said she had asked Genentech to support a clinical trial of the new treatment in babies, as they often had to be hospitalized if they caught flu.
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