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Rabbit Antibodies Reduce Kidney Rejection

CHICAGO · June 1, 1998 · by TNN Medical Reporter Virginia Baskerville

Protective antibodies from rabbits work better than the standard horse-antibody treatments to reduce early kidney rejection, according to a study presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Transplant Physicians.

Presenter Daniel C. Brennan, MD, of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis said that he was amazed by the results. "Although we achieved far better than average prevention of rejection with Atgam, the horse antibody product, there was unprecedented prevention of rejection with Thymoglobulin, the rabbit antibody product, and no further, recurrent episodes of rejection," Dr. Brennan said in a university press release.

Acute graft rejection occurred in six of 24 patients (25%) treated with Atgam and in two of 48 patients (4.2%) treated with Thymoglobulin. "By 14 days after surgery, patients treated with Atgam had near normal lymphocyte levels, but Thymoglobulin suppressed lymphocyte levels for as long as a year," Dr. Brennan said.

SangStat, The Transplant Company, which is developing Thymoglobulin for the North American market, presented other results at the ASTP meeting:

• Positive preliminary results were reported in an ongoing, randomized, double-blind, cross-over study comparing SangStat's cyclosporine product, Sang-35, with Neoral in liver recipients. At a minimum of three months of follow-up, the comparison resulted in equivalent cyclosporine blood levels. "Liver recipients offer a stringent model for evaluation of cyclosporine pharmacokinetics, so we are very pleased with these preliminary data," said Philippe Pouletty, MD, chairman and CEO of SangStat.
• Another presentation focused on an open-label, randomized, cross-over clinical trial of Sang-35 and Neoral in ten stable kidney recipients. Patients received Neoral, were switched to the same dose of Sang-35, and then switched back to Neoral. Levels of the cyclosporine parent compound and key metabolites were bioequivalent following each change in formulation.

For Your Information:

• rabbit antibody study
  http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/980512/washington_1.html

• Sang-35 studies
  http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/980511/sangstat_1.html

• summary of 20 presentations involving SangStat products
  http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/980429/sangstat_1.html

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