Drugs Trial Patients Start to Improve SCIENCE: TESTS

By Judith Duffy Health Correspondent

TWO of the six men involved in a drugs trial that went disastrously wrong were last night still in a critical condition.

However, doctors said yesterday that the condition of the other patients was improving, that they are conscious and able to talk to their families.

The men are being treated at Northwick Park Hospital, in northwest London, after suffering multiple organ failure within hours of testing a new antibody therapy, known as TGN1412.

All six are being given anti-inflammatory treatment following their reaction to the drug. Two patients have been taken off organ support after responding to treatment. A further two men are receiving less organ support as their condition improves.

But Ryan Wilson, 21, of Highbury, north London and a 28-year-old man, reported to be an assistant bar manager, remain in a critical condition.

Early signs of improvement have continued, but doctors said because of their “complex and very serious condition” it was too early to comment on prognosis.

A statement from the hospital said:

“In response to the treatment they have had, two patients have improved sufficiently to stop receiving organ support.

They do still need high-dependency care and remain under the supervision of the critical care team.

“Two of the other men remain in a serious condition but are gradually receiving less organ support. Both these men, and those in high-dependency beds, are fully conscious and chatting with their relatives.”

Dr Ganesh Suntharalingam, director of intensive care at the hospital, said an advisory panel was meeting to develop a more detailed understanding of what happened to the previously healthy men who fell ill on Monday after volunteering for the trial of TGN1412.

The drug, being developed by German firm TeGenero to treat conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, leukaemia and multiple sclerosis, was being tested on humans for the first time. The company has said there were no “drug-related adverse events” during animal testing.

Parexel, the medical research company responsible for the trial, insisted it had followed correct procedures.