The new product is a combination therapy that joins together both Hadasit and BWH/HMS intellectual property. This is the first official cooperation between Hadasit, Hadassah, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The combination therapy is a cocktail of a monoclonal antibody (Anti-CD3), in development at Harvard Medical School, and a line of Glycolipid compounds, currently in development at Hadasit.
The collaborative therapy will be tested in a Phase I safety and efficacy study in 20 healthy volunteers at Hadassah Hospital beginning in February 2008. The trial will investigate the safety and dosing of the combination therapy as well as monitor for immunologic effects. Assuming all goes smoothly, a subsequent Phase I safety and efficacy study of the treatment has been planned, in patients with an autoimmune disease. The second study will be conducted at both Hadassah and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and will likely include up to 50 patients.
Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director general, Hadassah Medical Organization, said: “Our joint venture is a calculated investment that we believe will not only reap an impressive return for Hadassah and its existing and potential partners, but also make a significant impact on existing treatment protocols.”