Product Overview - dirucotide (MBP8298)
Dirucotide (MBP8298) is a synthetic peptide that consists of 17 amino acids linked in a sequence identical to that of a portion of human myelin basic protein (MBP). Dirucotide (MBP8298) has been developed for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), and is based on over 26 years of research.
MS is generally considered an autoimmune disease, caused by immune attack against normal components of the central nervous system. The specificity of the immune attack at the molecular level is determined in each case by the HLA type of the individual patient, and HLA type is known to be one factor that contributes to susceptibility to MS. The MBP8298 synthetic peptide is a molecular replicate of the site of attack that is dominant in MS patients with HLA haplotypes DR-2 or DR-4. These HLA types are found in 65-75% of all MS patients.
The apparent mechanism of action of dirucotide (MBP8298) is the induction or restoration of immunological tolerance with respect to ongoing immune attack at this molecular site. High doses of antigen delivered periodically by the intravenous route are expected to suppress immune responses to the administered substance. The potential benefit of dirucotide (MBP8298) for any individual patient is therefore expected to be related to the extent to which his or her disease process is dominated by autoimmune attack at the site represented by this synthetic peptide.
The results of phase II and long-term follow-up treatment of MS patients with dirucotide (MBP8298), recently published in the European Journal of Neurology (EJN), showed that dirucotide (MBP8298) safely delayed median time to disease progression for five years in progressive MS patients with HLA-DR2 or HLA-DR4 immune response genes.