This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

PharmaFrontiers Corp, a company involved in the development and commercialization of cell therapies, announced today that the Company will make a poster presentation at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) at the San Francisco Marriott on June 3, 2006.
The presentation will cover laboratory and clinical data from the Company's proprietary T-cell vaccination technology for the treatment of the autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis and is entitled:

"Characterization and Clinical Response of a T-Cell Vaccination for Multiple Sclerosis."

Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory, demyelinating disorder of the human central nervous system (CNS) is the leading cause of nontraumatic neurological disability in young adults. The pathogenesis of MS involves antigen specific T cells directed against the protective myelin sheath of the neural network leading to a blocking of the transmission of nerve impulses. Over time exacerbations of the disease occur, leading to debilitating symptoms and eventually total disability.

The Company has developed a novel technology that utilizes an autologous T-cell vaccine known as Tovaxin(TM). Tovaxin(TM) is composed of Myelin Reactive T cell (MRTC) lines against the major proteins of the myelin sheath, myelin basic protein (MBP), proteolipid protein (PLP) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). A commercially feasible screening process has been developed to identify patient-specific myelin protein peptide reactive T cells from a patient's blood. The MRTC are expanded ex vivo, irradiated to render them non-replicating, and then administered subcutaneously to the patient as an individualized T-cell vaccine. This method allows the development of a patient-specific T-cell vaccine that induces an anti-idiotypic immune response directed against the T-cell receptor of patient-specific subsets of autoreactive T cells, thereby depleting these autoreactive cells in MS patients. The majority of vaccine T-cells are activated, as seen by CD25 (IL-2R) expression. This suggests that the T-cell vaccine also has the ability to elicit an anti-ergotypic response that may lead to a shift in the patient cytokine profiles.

"We are pleased that two ongoing Phase I/II clinical trials have shown reductions in relapse rate and alleviation of MS symptoms. A Phase IIb clinical trial with the T-cell vaccination, Tovaxin(TM), is planned for the second quarter of 2006," said David B. McWilliams, Chief Executive Officer, PharmaFrontiers Corp.