Rheumatology researchers at UCD and St. Vincent’s University Hospital, led by Dr Doug Veale and Dr Ursula Fearon have been awarded a further €680,000 funding from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to continue their drug development research programme for rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis sufferers develop abnormal growth of blood vessel at the site of the inflammatory joint, allowing inflammatory cells into tissue that surround cartilage and bone. These cells release proteins that break down cartilage, resulting in joint damage. Dr. Veale’s group is already in receipt of funding from the Health Research Board and Science Foundation Ireland to examine regulation of inflammation, specifically new blood vessel growth. This most recent GSK funding will be used to evaluate the role of cytokines and small molecules which may regulate the inflammatory process in rheumatoid arthritis.
Until now new drugs were only tested on animals before clinical trials, but the laboratory team has developed a novel model, using small biopsies of joint tissue to test drugs before they are introduced in patients in clinical trials; this will allow information about their effectiveness and usefulness to be gathered beforehand. The rheumatology group has developed and validated this method and used it to provide critical information regarding a new therapy for this life-long and often crippling disease, which affects about 100,000 people in Ireland.
“Current modern therapies will benefit up to 60 per cent of patients, but may be limited by lack of effect or adverse effects. There is a need for new treatments for the 40 per cent of patients who will not respond. In addition, newer treatments must prevent damage to joint cartilage as well as stopping inflammation, as cartilage integrity is essential to maintain joint function”, says Dr. Veale.
This recent award brings to almost €1 million the funding Dr Veale’s group have received from GSK over the past 3 years.
