Successfully manufactured new medicine helps treat rare immune diseases

The National Institutes of Health has successfully tested a new drug to treat a rare immuno-compromised disease in 31 research sites in 9 countries.

US medical scientists have launched a new drug approved by the US FDA Administration that can help effectively treat a rare immune disease.

Successfully manufactured new medicine helps treat rare immune diseases Picture 1

Specifically, the latest study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health found that they have successfully created a new drug called mepolizumab that can be injected into the body to treat EGPA (Churg-syndrome). Strauss-subcutaneous lymphadenopathy, is a rare immune disease.

EGPA, also known as subcutaneous lymphadenopathy, increases the number of a type of white blood cells called eosinophil. EGPA causes initial asthma, then develops into multi-organ damage because eosinophil can accumulate in blood vessel walls by releasing toxic proteins that lead to inflammation and damage to blood vessel walls, limiting Blood flow and tissue damage of organs, including blood vessels and skin.

Previously, the proper treatment for EGPA was continuous oral steroid use, but this led to concerns about long-term steroid use and its associated side effects. At the same time, taking steroids is not always effective for some patients and the risk of relapse is very common.

Therefore, the researchers tested the efficacy of supplementation with steroidal mepolizumab to treat EGPA in 136 patients and found that 28% of participants had reduced EGPA by at least 24 weeks compared to only 3 % of people taking placebo.

Moreover, the disease continued to be relieved at weeks 36 and 48 at 32% in participants treated with mepolizumab.

This study has just been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.