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More ammunition for Udall Bill: Guilford has high hopes for nerve drugs --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Reuters LONDON, Reuters Corporate World News via Individual Inc. : U.S. biotechnology firm Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Friday that a group of compounds called neuroimmunophilins may represent a real breakthrough in treating brain diseases and damaged nerves. The compounds, which are still at a very early stage of testing, have produced significant regeneration of nerve cells and the vital myelin (fat) sheath that surrounds them. "This could represent a significant advance," research vice-president Peter Suzdak told Reuters in London where he was presenting the findings to a conference. The class of compounds were originally used as immuno-suppressants but Guilford has discovered they also help damaged nerves to regrow. The tests so far have all been on rats and mice but Suzdak said they have produced regrowth of damaged nerves and allowed partial recovery of lost motor functions. He said the orally-taken compounds seemed to effect all nerve cells and so could potentially have a wide-range of uses, from traumatic injuries like those caused in car accidents to degenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. "It doesn't matter what type of neurone it is, if it is damaged, our compounds promote regeneration," he said. The firm is still seeking out a lead compound to aim at its initial target area of treating Parkinsons. By the end of this year, Suzdak said, several final candidates will have been identified for tests on primates with induced brain conditions that mimic Parkinsons. >From those trials a final lead compound will be selected and could go into human trials in around two years time. Treating damaged or degenerated nerve cells is difficult and the area has few truly effective drugs. A breakthrough would be highly lucrative as well as offering hope to millions of sufferers. But he played down the possibility of a cure. "Cure is a very dangerous word to use. A cure would imply one hundred percent regrowth and it is dangerous to make that claim. It is unfair on the company and sufferers," he said. Suzdak said he could not name a date when, if all tests go well, the firm could get a product to market. The industry standard tends to be around five to seven years after entering human tests, but variations are common. Guilford is based in Baltimore, Maryland, and was founded in July 1993. Its most advanced products are cancer treatment Gliadel, which has completed Phase III trials, and Parkinson's diagnostic Dopascan, which is in Phase III trials. Phase III is the last stage before a product can be submitted to regulatory authorities. The firm also has a joint-venture doing research into finding drugs to help treat cocaine addiction. -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 [05-24-96 at 06:03 EDT, Copyright 1996, Reuters America Inc.]