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Biotech / Medical : Cell Genesys (CEGE) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: david james who wrote (853)	4/4/2000 10:24:00 AM
From: Cheryl Galt	Respond to of 1298

Here's some Abgenix news, since ABGX has no active thread. biz.yahoo.com Paraphrased excerpts: Apr 3 Abgenix announced it initiated its first Ph 2 multi-center, placebo controlled trial of its proprietary drug ABX-IL8, for moderate to severe psoriasis. - anticipated enrollment - 90 pts - interim review possible by year-end 2000. Dec 1999 Abgenix reported results of a multi-center, placebo controlled Phase I/II - 45 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. - ABX-IL8 was safe and well tolerated at all dose levels tested - a dose-dependent improvement was seen in multiple measures of disease. Future additional Phase II trials for ABX-IL8 are being evaluated in psoriasis and other indications including rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. --------------- ABX-IL8 is being studied initially in psoriasis because of its potential to intervene at multiple steps in the disease pathology by blocking IL-8. Studies ==> o IL-8 levels can be elevated 150-fold in psoriatic tissue vs normal tissue. o IL-8 is also a growth factor for skin cells that are proliferating in psoriatic tissue. o IL-8 is a potent angiogenesis factor, so it may be contributing to the ingrowth of blood vessels that nourish psoriatic tissue. --------------- ABX-IL8 was developed using their XenoMouse technology. It targets Interleukin-8, a cytokine that can cause unwanted inflammation by first enabling immune cells, including neutrophils, to migrate to inflammatory sites and subsequently activating them. There is substantial evidence that IL-8 contributes to a number of inflammatory diseases, including psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease.