Bristol University spin-out Apitope develops promising treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Apitope, a life sciences spin-out from Bristol University, has announced a promising new drug for treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The drug, which treats the underlying cause of MS, halts progress of the disease, and showed improvements in 43 of the 49 patients treated.

Following completition of its Phase I trial, the company has licensed the drug to Merck Serano, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck KG, for Phase II trials.

Keith Martin, chief executive of Apitope, said: “We are pleased to have successfully completed a challenging clinical trial with positive results. The results of this trial in patients with relapsing MS continue to build on the positive data from our first study and provide further clinical support for the Apitope approach to the treatment of serious autoimmune conditions.”