Same ol', same ol'....
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Friday February 22, 1:32 am Eastern Time
Elan Corp. halts Alzheimer's vaccine test - report
WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Embattled Irish drugmaker Elan Corp. (NYSE:ELN - news) (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: ELN.L) has halted trials of an experimental Alzheimer's vaccine after 12 volunteers became ill with brain inflammation, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
The newspaper quoted sources familiar with the study as saying there was little question the vaccine, code named AN-1792, triggered brain reactions, which some scientists said was encephalitis.
A company spokesman told the newspaper an independent committee was reviewing data from the study involving about 360 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease in four European countries and 11 U.S. sites.
The report on the vaccine adds to Elan's problems, which include a battered share price, a grim 2002 profit warning and a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into allegations of deceptive accounting practices.
According to the Washington Post, the vaccine aims to generate an immune system attack against ``beta amyloid,'' the brain protein believed to be at the root of Alzheimer's. Experiments in mice suggested the vaccine could halt the progression of Alzheimer's and perhaps even cure the deadly disease, the paper said.
Although animal studies and early human safety studies suggested the vaccine was reasonably safe, the test was controversial because immune reactions typically cause inflammation, the report said.
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