By ANNE BESTON
A pioneering cure for the disfiguring skin disease psoriasis could earn millions of dollars for an Auckland company.
Genesis Research and Development is waiting for results from a 240-person clinical trial in the United States, expected to be out within a month, to allow it to proceed to one more trial before the vaccine can be put on the market.
In partnership with US company Corixa, researcher Jim Watson developed the psoriasis vaccine while looking for a cure for leprosy.
Instead of curing that disease, Dr Watson and his team found that the severe psoriasis of one of the patients cleared up.
In an early safety trial, conducted in the Philippines, half of 24 patients with psoriasis improved, and in a quarter the disease cleared up completely.
A 56-year-old Filipina, who had suffered severe psoriasis most of her life, showed dramatic improvement 21 days after being vaccinated. She remained free of skin rashes for a further 15 months.
Dr Watson said that if the vaccine were approved for sale, most patients would probably need a jab every eight to 10 months.
Psoriasis is one of a group of diseases caused by the immune system not functioning properly.
White blood cells, which are supposed to fight infection and disease, instead attack healthy tissue, including skin, and cause conditions such as psoriasis, leprosy and polio.
"The trouble with the immune system is that it's not perfect," Dr Watson said.
"For some reason which we don't understand, in some individuals the white blood cells not only attack the mumps, the measles and colds, they also attack healthy tissue."
The New Zealand-developed vaccine neutralises the malfunctioning white blood cells.
It could also be effective against a range of auto-immune and inflammatory diseases, including diabetes and asthma.
"We would get significant revenues from the sale of this drug in North America and in other parts of the world," Dr Watson said.
Psoriasis, which was graphically illustrated by actor Michael Gambon in British playwright Dennis Potter's television drama The Singing Detective, affects about one in 50 people or about 75,000 New Zealanders.
It has no known cure and the painful, unsightly condition can make it difficult for sufferers to find work. Some face a lifetime of expensive steroid treatments.
Psoriasis sufferer Ian Orr said the condition often affected people's relationships because they worried about how they looked and did not want to go out.
Mr Orr believed diet was a key factor in psoriasis and he had experimented over the years with organic food supplements, which had helped.
"But anything that relieves suffering for people with this disease would be welcome."
Cure worth millions step closer
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